And When She Finds Out
by Sun Kissed and Odin
Summary: In an era where bending is forbidden, Katara finds herself falling for the CEO of a mysterious corporation. But when she learns that her boss may be a bounty hunter and could have killed her mother, she sets her emotions aside. Slightly AU **some chapters will be rated M**
1. Chapter 1

Title: And When She Finds Out

Rating: M, just to be safe.

Pairings: Katara/Zuko, hints of Katara/Haru/Jet

Summary:

**Katara decides to work for a mysterious CEO during a time where bending is illegal. Though there are vicious rumors going around about him and the company he owns, Katara decides to keep her job and ignore all the idle chatter—despite not even knowing her Boss's real name. But when the truth is revealed about who her Boss really is, and what exactly his company does to make **_**so**_** much money Katara's world is turned upside down. **

**It's a slightly AU fic, bending is nearly obsolete and there is use of modern technology, ie guns, computers, cell phones. It is a Zutara fic with slight hints of other pairings as well. I will update frequently and will happily respond to suggestions as I see fit. **

**God bless and enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own any of the characters or plotline of Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

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Chapter One

I thought I looked nice when I left my house, my dumb roommates had even told me so but I should have known they were lying. Those idiotic, hormonally twisted nerds wouldn't know a thing about fashion in the first place. _Oh well_, I thought pushing my chest out and flipping my hair over my shoulder. _A little cleavage never hurt anyone_.

I was wearing a low cut white dress shirt and a simple black skirt with a split up the side revealing my legs all the way up past my knee. I'd picked out my finest heels convinced that I'd be able to manage walking in them and had discarded the jacket that matched with my outfit, also convinced that that was a good idea. When I first looked in my full length mirror at home in my tiny apartment shared with three zit-faced college students I thought I looked nice. They all whistled and said my choice attire was perfect and had even made my short little legs worth looking at. Sometimes it sucked being five feet tall so I chose to wear five inch heels and my roommates said those looked good too. Then they encouraged me to leave my jacket behind saying that showing some skin was a good idea. It wasn't until I'd actually stepped onto the metro bus that I realized how wrong those lunatics were.

Every man on the bus stopped what they were doing and looked up at me as I passed by. Some even winked and the old guy with a protuberant nose and missing front teeth even licked his lips and I swear he reached down to grope himself. I stood at the back of the bus and told myself standing behind all the men was a good idea but it wasn't. They kept glancing furtively over their shoulders trying to get another peak at the lady dressed like a hooker and I wondered why. I mean I knew I looked a bit better than my usual baggy sweat pants and large t-shirts, normally commandeered from one of my roommates, but I was going for a job interview I had to look my best.

This was the first interview I'd landed in months, _months_. I was so excited I could have cried. And I should have cried because I desperately needed the money. I was heavily in debt, owing college loans, owing loans from my Dad, owing countless loans from my older brother and I don't know how much rent my roommates had covered for the many times I'd skipped out on coughing up my portion. I just didn't have the money—ok sometimes I lied and spent my scarce paychecks on other more important things, ahem, new shoes, but those kids shouldn't be so gullible. Suki, my best friend, says they're going to wake me up and gang bang me one night because that's the equivalent of how much I owe them. Heck, I could give them each a good blow every night for a week and still have some debt to pay off. But not even in their dreams, which probably consisted of just that, would I ever even consider lowering myself to such standards. Though it's been quite awhile since I've gotten any action so the most handsome, or, least ugly I should say, of my roommates just might have a chance with me. If I came home drunk … and had lost my vision … and was fully convinced that he was a six foot, chiseled sex-god. But when will that happen?

"You look pretty ma'am." said the man standing next to me. He inched over my way as the bus chugged along and I discreetly glanced at my watch wishing time would hurry up so I could get off that vehicle and away from all the pervs around me. I mean the guy in front of me didn't even try to hide the fact that he was staring at my boobs. I _so_ should have kept my jacket.

"Thanks," I said laconically and turned to look out the window.

"Where ya headed?" I looked at him wryly and answered.

"Just a job interview."

He looked at my boobs.

"I hope you get the job."

"Me too." I said and laughed out loud to myself thinking about how desperate I was but he mistook that as me laughing at whatever he thought he'd said that was funny, which was nothing, and laughed along with me. Except his eyes stayed on my boobs, like they were laughing too, and then he took yet another step even closer to me.

"What kind of job are you trying to get?" he asked, to my boobs.

I sighed and shifted so that my chest was turned away from him. He looked up to meet my gaze and I burned him with a glare.

"This is my stop," I announced ringing the bell above me. I side stepped around him and exited the bus cursing under my breath as I realized I was actually two stops away. Now I'd have to trek five blocks up the street in the middle of a Fire Nation summer day, in sizzling Fire Nation weather.

"Why did I believe I could make it big over here?" I mumbled as I clutched my purse and started teetering up the street.

When most teens turn eighteen they go to college and return home between breaks. They mess up, catch the wrong bus, get lost somewhere, stupidly spend their money in the first week of getting it and then starve for the rest of the month, they stay up late, they don't get sleep, they don't get laid—though they pretend they do of course, and then they graduate and live a good wholesome life. I, however, graduated from high school, got the hell off my ice chunk of a home and went to college as far away as possible—in the Fire Nation. I enrolled as a pre-med bio major then dropped that. Re-enrolled as a business management major and dropped that, then went undecided and when my junior year rolled around and I _had_ to choose a major I picked liberal arts thinking I could show off the little artistic skill I thought I had. I wanted to be a freelance artist.

After I graduated I realized that, according to many rude agents, I'm no good at painting, or singing or dancing. I tried to go back to college and get a more useful degree but ended up dropping out and I even got bold and dared to use my pathetic 'bending' skills to earn money but that nearly got me thrown into prison.

Everyone knows the legends, the bedtime stories from their parents about how the world used to be awesome because everyone had magical abilities to control the elements of the earth. They fascinated me to no end and not a night went by without me begging my father to tell me more about the mysterious 'Avatar'. But even he, in his late years, knew little about the doubtable phenomenon. Not even my grandmother knew much about him … or her? Bending was rare when my father was a child and in my youth it was practically obsolete. Nowadays it's considered a curse, something unholy and every desperate whack job in need of a few quick bucks goes around hunting down and even killing benders for a small bounty. The even crazier ones become dare-devils and try to hunt down the Avatar, to no avail. No one has any proof the Avatar ever even existed but he/she is a part of the legend of bending so there's a hefty bounty out for him too. Though I doubt it will ever be claimed.

My father and brother begged me to stay home in the Southern Water Tribe or go somewhere safer where rare people like me—benders—would be more accepted but I was determined to get out of there when I advanced from high school. No way could I make it in the frosty Water Tribes, they're still communicating via handwritten letters. I had a better chance of making a dent in the world from the Earth Kingdom but they're not much better than the Water Tribe. I had no choice but to go to the Fire Nation, the land of gold, the kingdom whose skies were kissed by God, the fiery land of eternal happiness, the center of the earth, the list goes on. If anyone wanted to be anything important then the Fire Nation was the place to be. Except the Fire Nation is not a place for _benders_ to be.

It's literally forbidden, "All is well when all are equal." That's the motto of their land, meaning no benders allowed. Good thing I'm no good at water bending anyway, all I have to do is keep it a secret and I'm safe.

Everyone thought I'd fall flat and come crawling back home when I announced that I wanted to go away for college and they were almost right. I'd tried a hand at nearly every major in college and every odd job I found but nothing seemed to work out for me, but I didn't give up. After trying and failing to enter the world of singing and dancing I chugged down a bottle of liquid courage and tried acting. Much to my surprise, I actually earned my first paycheck over three hundred dollars right off the bat. I shot a short commercial for a hair removal lotion called Navar. It featured four girls in short shorts dancing with a bottle in their hand and singing the lyrics; _"Use Navar once and you'll Ne-var worry again!"_

It was my first big hit and when it finally premiered after the popular Fire Nation reality show; _Who's the Hottest?—_I was ecstatic. Then I realized that the Navar company placed the exaggeratedly large _N_ logo right on me, covering my entire body, throughout the entire commercial. I called the production studio and asked what was up, the director said I looked good but, being only five feet tall, my legs were too short. _Curse_ my height! Then I screamed obscenities into the phone, something about why in the world he would hire someone five feet tall and then place them with giant ten foot Amazons and get angry with me because I took a bath in the runt genes when I was but a small clump of cells forming in my mother.

My director black booked me and I haven't had a job since. Which is why I have to nail this interview. It's my first since that incident and that was months ago. When I sent in my application, which was relatively empty, and actually got a call back I just stood stunned in my tiny kitchen thinking; there _is_ a God! Because finally, that jerk director had forgotten about me and had stopped black booking me from every job opportunity I got. Maybe because this job was in the business industry and all the others I'd tried to get were still in the acting or modeling world.

I've no idea why I didn't think to leave modeling and acting alone earlier.

I walked up to the giant classy looking building huffing for breath and swearing next time I'd just ignore the pervs on the bus and when I got home I'd pound those knuckle head roommates of mine into the dirt. I took a few quick breaths before entering the large front door and gasped as a cold blast of cool air smacked me right in the face.

Everyone in the building looked so clean, so proper and so respectable. Compared to them I looked like a dirty teacher ready to teach my students a naughty lesson. The fact that I was sweating profusely and gasping for air only made me look worse. In fact I bet I'd ditched the dirty teacher look and was mirroring a confused hooker instead, thank God I'd opted out of my push up bra. Nevertheless I made my way to the front desk with no shame and addressed the clerk.

"Hello!" I chirped forcing a bright smile onto my face. The girl before me raised her head from her computer screen and locked eyes with me. She looked quite dull and seemed to be annoyed with me already. Her deep red lipstick was smudging above her top lip and her short black bob was a bit frazzled. She must have been having a hard day.

"Can I help you?" she asked moving a large glob of gum around in her mouth. I pulled a face but kept talking. _Can't be rude, that may interfere with me getting this job,_ I thought laughing nervously.

"I'm Katara Rorano, I'm here for the interview with," I paused to dig in my purse for the slip of paper I'd written the dude's name on. The man who called me to set up the interview had a wonderfully seductive voice; I wished I'd get the job just to hear him speak again when I was on the phone.

"Mr. Fistgow." I said.

She raised her perfectly arched eyebrows and popped her gum again. "You mean Mr. Fist_go_?"

"Um,"—who?

"Its pronounced Fistgo, the W is silent," she said pointing to her right. "Down that hall, make a left, go up two flights of stairs, do _not_ take the elevator. Make a right, then two lefts, proceed through the purple door, then go up another flight of stairs and it's the first white door on your right."

I stood there staring at her in disbelief; did she seriously expect me to remember that?

"Can you repeat that please?" I asked as sweetly as I could.

She popped her gum again and reached for a sticky note.

"Your nails are pretty." I whispered trying to cajole her. She flicked her eyes up at me and opened her mouth to speak but her ringing phone cut her off.

"Hello?" she said and, being as nosy as I am, I strained my ears to listen.

"She's right here,"—_me_? I thought looking down at her.

"Yes … I'm sending her up now."

She hung up the phone and shoved the sticky note at me. "Hurry up, he's waiting for you."

I was seriously regretting my pointy heels when I finally mounted that last staircase. "First white door on my right." I whispered huffing for breath. I walked a few paces passing doors as I went and stopped.

"This is it." I whispered reaching up to check my hair. I patted myself down and reapplied some lip gloss before grasping the doorknob and continuing inside.

The office was plain enough, I guess since I was at State Enterprise I'd been expecting something lavish and insanely expensive. Like a mini-bar and a personal assistant for each passing individual, instead there was a white sofa across from a plain brown desk and a potted tree off to the side. Behind the desk sat a long, pale man obviously wearing a toupee—he wasn't fooling anyone, and sporting a flashy dark suit. Behind him was a large black door that looked to be sealed tight.

I smiled as I approached the skinny man at the desk and said; "Hi, I'm Katara—"

He cut me off by raising his hand and pointing over his shoulder at the black door, "Mr. Fistgow will take you in there."

Without hesitation I click-clacked around the desk and went through the door. It was just as plain as the first room. Just all white and all boring. I felt like I was in a holding center and couldn't help but shudder as I took a seat across from the handsome, angular faced man at the desk. He was brown with darker brown hair and hard brown eyes. His stare was so intense I could only hold his gaze for a few bold seconds before awkwardly blinking away. His shoulders were hidden beneath a crisp white button down but it wasn't hard to tell that they were incredibly broad and toned. I only wished he was standing so that I could enjoy the full view of him.

"Ms. Rorano," said the man and I felt my heart skip a beat. His voice was the one from the call that'd let me know about the interview, soothing and sultry at the same time.

"Yes Mr. Fistgow?" I said, my voice cracking from my anxious nerves.

He smiled warmly. "Please, call me Jet."

I nodded. "I'm very pleased to be interviewing you," he opened the drawer on the desk and pulled out some papers flipping through them carefully before continuing.

"Your résumé isn't the best, but I like your, uh," he paused trying to find the right word, "style."

"I've never heard that before." I said letting out a nervous laugh.

"Just tell me," he leaned across the table and rested his chin on his hand "what made you go from sporadic acting to applying for a secretarial position at a billion dollar enterprise?"

"I guess I like the idea of being a billionaire's personal assistant?" I asked more than said. He laughed heartily at this and I couldn't help but smile at the sight of him. He was nearly gorgeous.

"I guess that's intriguing." said Jet still sifting through the papers. "As far as I care, you're hired."

I bounced in my seat unable to contain my excitement; this went easier than I thought it would. "I am?" I asked in a high pitched voice.

"Yes," answered Jet "but you'll be on a one month trial. If my boss likes you then you're hired. If not then we'll mail you a paycheck and write you a nice referral."

"Wait," I said holding up my hand "I won't be _your_ personal assistant?"

Jet laughed again. "Sorry to say," he said with a discreet wink "but you'll be working for my boss, not me." I was so looking forward to being his personal assistant; I could assist him in _so_ many different ways.

I raised my eyebrows trying to hide my disappointment. "He's a nice guy, don't worry and the job is incredibly easy."

"What are the conditions?"

"All you have to do is make sure his phone never goes to voicemail and look pretty." He paused and scanned me from head to hips stopping for an extra second at my boobs. "I don't think that last part will be too tough."

I blushed uncontrollably.

"C'mon," said Jet rising to his feet. He was tall, rather lean, but mostly tall. Head and shoulders over me which wasn't surprising because nearly everyone over ten years old is head and shoulders over me but this guy was notably large.

"Follow me, I'll show you wear you'll be staying."

"Where I'll be staying?" I said in a surprised tone. Jet crossed the room to the door and stopped as he grasped the handle.

"Yes," he replied "I hope it's not too much to ask but my boss prefers for all of his personal employees to be at a moment's notice."

"So I'm on duty twenty-four seven?" I asked.

He nodded. "It's easier for his more important employees to live with him."

"Live with him?" I asked growing concerned. I couldn't just up and leave my home. I already had an apartment and roommates, I didn't want another. I mean I had a small, crappy, overpriced apartment with teenage losers as roommates and a horny bastard ready to spank me stupid at any moment for a landlord but still, I couldn't just leave so suddenly. I had responsibilities, ok I just owed them all money, but those are responsibilities too right?

"Yes," answered Jet. He was beginning to sound rather redundant. "Just follow me, I'll show you."

We traveled through the building turning corners and taking random stairwells, I thought for a second he was leading me to some room to capture and torture me after about ten minutes of walking. We'd get to a door and he'd pull out a black key card to swipe, then punch in a code and swipe again before we could enter. It was like this place was some secret detective agency or something. When I'd applied for the secretarial position I was told that State Enterprise was an 'all-around' company. That's not too hard to believe I've seen their large 'S' logo on a plethora of items, devices, household appliances, television productions, even on the backs of security guard's t-shirts. It seemed like State Enterprise had a hand in every possible area of entertainment and necessities as well. And now I was being offered the position of a personal assistant to the CEO. The thought sent fervent chills dancing up my spine.

"Here we are." announced Jet as he led me into a small black room. I walked a few steps forward and glanced around. It was an empty room with a window on the far end; I know the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company didn't expect me to live in a prison cell did he?

"Uh," I said nervously.

Jet laughed and went over to the window snatching the blinds back and burning my eyes with the harsh sunlight. Once my vision cleared and I was able to blink without bringing tears to my eyes I stepped forward even more and glanced out the window. There was a house outside. A small white one with a few plain windows and I don't know how many surveillance cameras hanging around.

"That's uh," I began but I cut myself off with a pounding question as it suddenly hit my thoughts. "Is that where I'm going to live?"

Jet nodded. "Yeah, this is the surveillance room that we watch it from. I don't have a key to the actual house, so I can't take you inside." He smiled sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry."

"Its ok," I said peering out the window with rapt interest now.

"How come you don't have a key?" I asked.

"Boss is very serious about his personal life, doesn't want anyone from work associated with him when he's not in the building or on a job."

"Yet he forces you all to be on call every second of the day." I said rolling my eyes.

He laughed again and faced me. "I think you'll like him Katara, he's nicer than he sounds trust me."

"So do I get a key to his house?" I asked brushing off his last statement.

"Yes," Jet pulled out a small black box and handed it to me. "this is it," his voice grew lower as he spoke further. He bunched up his eyebrows and looked at me with a stern expression. The room even felt tenser as he talked. "Do not lose it, do not misplace it, do not let anyone but yourself even touch this key."

"Why so serious?" I asked playfully snatching the box away. Jet sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Please Katara, your job lies on this key."

"Ok," I said carefully placing it in my purse.

Jet led me back to his office and passed me paper after paper as he droned on and on about the rules of the company and what was expected of me. It was difficult to keep up with him but after an hour of talking, a half hour of idle chatter over warm coffee and another thirty minutes of explaining I thought I was getting an understanding of things.

Jet was his nameless boss's vice president of the State Enterprise. Apparently his boss was so busy all the time that he handled most of the lesser important dealings. I kind of felt insulted by that. I mean I was being trusted with a key to the guy's house and he couldn't find time to come meet me himself? Jet says his boss is incredibly noble, self-sacrificing, and he loves a good laugh—though I doubt that last part. A guy who's so involved with his company he makes his employees live with him has got to be a stiff dude, but with Jet's warm and sincere smile it was hard not to believe him.

"I guess I'll see you out then," said Jet as he finished his third cup of coffee. I stood as he did and smiled wide.

"Lead the way, I still don't know my way around." He'd given me a tour during one of our coffee breaks and had even allowed me to have one of those black keycards and told me some of the codes to punch in but it was so complicated I couldn't catch on very well.

We walked through the maze of a building talking and chatting like we'd known each other for years. Jet was a really nice guy with a very serious side. He could turn on what I call his 'business' side in an instant and relax to his normal laid back self just as quickly. It was very comforting knowing that I'd be working around someone who seemed so … real. I guess hearing all that stuff about his mysterious boss made me feel as though everyone was like him … busy and boring.

"I can't go any further." said Jet as we neared the exit to the building. I stared at him in wonder, we were just going outside. What was he, a vampire?

"Why not?" I asked confused.

He blushed with a bit of shame. "Boss doesn't like for us to leave our grounds unless we're on a job." I rolled my eyes, not that twenty-four seven crap again. This was an enterprise not a secret agency jeez.

"Plus I'm not allowed to go near his house, remember?" I didn't try to hide my next eye roll.

"Right." I said then I asked; "what about my stuff, I need to go collect my things since I'm being forced to move in here."

Jet smiled as his face morphed to a more depreciating expression—as if I should know better than to say such silly things. "I had your things moved over to Boss's house while we waited here." said Jet enjoying the look of surprise that crossed my face.

"You what?"

"Don't worry, we didn't steal anything."

He'd better not had. I made sure to check all of my two suitcases—I'm poor remember?—when I got to my new home. I was actually surprised at how neatly my things had been packed. I mean they—whoever 'they' were—folded every piece of my clothing. Even those socks with the holes in them, but that didn't make me any happier. I mean, I was practically being forced out of my home. I guess I'd agreed to take the job but what if I had some conditions too?—some standards for myself? Plus I owed so much money to everyone, I felt bad just leaving like that. And then it didn't help that the 'Boss's' house was so average, like _really_ average for a guy who's supposedly the owner of a huge company like State Enterprise. It's got two floors, two bedrooms, two studies and a simple living room and kitchen. Nothing special, nothing extraordinary, in fact I was a bit displeased. It was by far better than the place I'd been living at before but I guess after trekking through the gigantic halls of State's home base coming there was kind of a letdown.

What was even more of a letdown was my work experience. I spent the first two full weeks of my job alone. I mean I was supposed to be this guy's personal assistant yet I had no one to assist. He didn't even come home, nor did his phone ring or any mail come in. I was living in a house made for two people completely alone. I'd go into work, sit at my desk and play computer games, no boring meetings, no lectures, no business guys to deal with. I was alone. I hardly even saw Jet and I really liked him. He was what convinced me to take the job, ok the pay was a bit of an influence as well but Jet was a strong contender. He was what made me take the job but my co-workers nearly make me quit every day. It's all mostly men, which I'm used to, considering I roomed with three male college students but they're not the well kept, make you wanna strip down and bang them on site kind of men. No, they're the old pervs who gawk at your boobs and shamelessly check out your butt when you walk past. I even get a few wolf-whistles here and there but it's not very comforting. Maybe I'm not being gracious but, correct me if I'm wrong, no one enjoys being stared at by a sixty year old bald man with stank breath and a constant boner, right?

But the old pervs aren't the worst part. I was thoroughly insulted just three days after moving into my new home. Apparently my attire didn't meet the standards of the rest of the employees at State Enterprise so a personal stylist was sent to my house to measure me and dress me up.

"I'm Lerah." said the stylist holding out a hand. I smiled sweetly marshalling my jealous thoughts of her height and hair and, shaking her hand, replied; "I'm Katara nice to meet you."

The first thing she made me do was strip down stark naked and spread 'em. Seriously I had to stand legs wide apart and pretend it wasn't awkward when she knelt and casually slid the measuring tape around my upper thigh coming dangerously close to touching a very special area of mine. I wondered why I had to be butt naked for this but she answered my question as if she were reading my mind.

"I want my measurements to be precise," she explained when I refused to let her measure my buttocks "even your panties, as thin as they may be,"—did she just insult my underwear?—"have an effect on your measurements."

"Not that much of an effect!" I argued covering my rear end with my hands.

She just sighed and glared at me. I glared back but to no avail, her icy stare was quite frightening. I gave up and let her measure me.

When she was done she handed me a copy of my measurements and I smiled, I thought I was larger than what I was reading. Apparently not having money for food is a great way to diet. But of course that rude stylist ruined my joy by stabbing me in the gut with her words.

"You should consider working out every now and then," she said watching my smile melt away.

"Why? I look good." I said clutching my measurements.

"You legs need toning." she answered flatly.

I got angry instantly. "I know their short compared to yours," she was like six feet tall, "but they're not bad." I have short legs, so what?

She gave an exaggerated glance at my legs lingering on my thighs and then shook her head with much displeasure written on her face. "I'm used to dealing with more," she paused thinking of a word, "_firm_ clients."

_Make that, short legs with dimply thighs_, I thought rolling my eyes.

"Whatever, are we done here?" I asked sweeping her toward the door. She sucked her teeth and left without another word.

I bitterly hated that stylist for her rudeness, discreet name calling and her stupid long legs. But the next morning came and I was woken by someone arriving to the house—at first I thought it was my boss but it wasn't. It was my stylist, she came with some clothes and all of my anger toward her vanished in an instant. The clothes were gorgeous and so expensive I could have sold them and bought a house with the money. How Lerah managed to find garments so perfect for me in such a short time I will never know but I also didn't care. They were mostly business attire, dress pants, different length dresses, skirts and shirts ranging from demure associate to sexy assistant. I was high from my options. I tried on each one and grew more excited with every passing moment. The clothes clung to my body accentuating my curves and making my—dimply—thighs look lusciously plump. The skirts would be considered inappropriately short on anyone else but my short legs gratefully allowed me to show more skin without ridicule. The shirts were the same, I've always been told that I've got nice boobs by my nerdy roommates but girls have only called me small, but my clothes showed otherwise. They flashed my girls in a way that made mama proud while at the same time not giving me that I'm-banging-my-boss look I'd apparently had going on earlier. No way was I banging my boss, he was never around.

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**Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed, will be updating soon. God bless.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**

**This is actually part two of chapter one because chapter one was inching up on 10k words so I chopped it in half. But then I figured whatever, just call it chapter two. It doesn't make a difference anyway.**

**Thanks for all of the positive response, especially thanks to Macy, my very first reviewer and to Quirkista who read and reviewed my story simply because I asked—nice to know there's some courteous author's out there. **

**Quirkista is the author of **_**Mysteries**_**, an AU Zutara story that I've been following. Please check it out, it's a really nice FF. **

**Anyways, enjoy the update and drop a review please, it's so much easier to write when I know people are actually enjoying it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own any of the characters or plotline of Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

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Chapter Two

"And I haven't even met my actual boss yet!" I yelled into the phone. It was the end of my second week at work and—as you've just heard—I still haven't met my boss. I was ranting to Suki about how horrible everything is now. I haven't gotten my first paycheck, I can't go anywhere but to work and back to my prison cell and every time I question one of the _many_ crazy rules around State Enterprise Jet just tells me its _protocol_. What the hell does that mean? Its protocol to change your employees' lives once they're hired!?

Suki heaved a sigh into the phone then replied; "If you don't like it so much, then quit."

"Suki!" I gasped slapping my free hand to my forehead. "You're kidding right? Do you know how much this job pays?"

"Actually," she said with a pause "I don't and frankly I don't care, State Enterprise is a monster and I can't believe you work for them now."

Suki and I have had this conversation five times over already. She absolutely despises State Enterprise; it's like the evil dictator of the media franchise. If they don't own it, then they own the company who owns it—which is like owning it from a distance. Plus, Suki's convinced that State Enterprise is secretly this underground bounty hunting organization that goes around killing benders around the world.

When I was a child my mother was murdered on her way home from work, I was there, my mother worked up the road from our home so my father used to let me walk down to her office when she got off from work. I witnessed it all, the attack from behind, the screaming, the blood, the pleading for life. I was the one and only person who could've brought my mother's killer to justice except I was only five so the only thing I remembered after the trauma passed was that the guy who did it was wearing all black and he had a tattoo on his wrist. A tattoo of a large exaggerated S.

The logo for State Enterprise.

I just think it was a coincidence, maybe his name started with an S? Suki's never forgotten it though, she wasn't even there. I didn't meet Suki until I went to college but while I was studying liberal arts she was in law school and when we finally exchanged our deepest darkest secrets—hers was that she had a crush on my older brother—ew—mine was the story of my mother. She became obsessed with it; once we graduated she reopened the unsolved case but only to close it back up again months later. There simply weren't enough facts and no evidence. It happened in the middle of a cold Water Tribe night, no witnesses but me, the five year old child and no surveillance cameras. Still, Suki won't let it go. Probably because the legend of her village is that it was supposedly ravaged by a group of men in black sporting the same tattoos, they destroyed the statue of the late Avatar Kyoshi and burned the village to the ground—so I've been told. But the island Suki's bloodline derives from is so old it's not even maps anymore. So I don't know if that's actual truth or simply a legend.

"Suki," I said feeling frustrated "State Enterprise isn't a monster, they're a legit company."

"They killed your mother." she said bluntly.

"No," I replied trying to stay calm "a man in black killed my mother. And she wasn't even a bender so even if State Enterprise was this evil bounty hunting company—which it's not—they wouldn't have targeted my mom."

Suki sighed again, this time I could tell she was ready to hang up—and honestly, so was I. It was already tiring to be at a job that was so mysterious and confusing and to not be able to confide in anyone was making it worse. "Look," I said pinching the bridge of my nose. "I gotta go ok?"

"Yeah," said Suki quietly.

"Tell Sokka I said hey, catch you later."

"Bye."

Normally I wouldn't care about having an argument with Suki, we're best friends, that doesn't mean we have to agree on everything but this morning that conversation left a sour taste in my mouth and it lingered when I went to work.

I arrived to the office right on time ignoring the wolf whistles and eye winks from the old pervs as I made my way to the small room in the back. I spend hours sitting at a desk guarding a locked door and waiting for a phone that never rings to come to life, in a way its easy pay but for someone who's used to hard work and an active schedule, its near torture.

"You look tired," said a voice as I entered my office. I jumped to life startled by Jet's presence. He was sitting on my desk wearing a nice fitting suit, fingering through some papers I was supposed to have filed already but I couldn't file them without the Boss's signature and well, so far he's been nowhere to be found.

"Jet?" I said happy to see him. I trotted over to him and gave him a big hug which he happily received.

"What's up?" I asked "Did you come to have breakfast with me? I totally skipped so I could make it here on time."

He shook his head and pulled away from my embrace. "I actually came to give you a warning."

"A warning?" _Great_, I thought, _I'm busted_.

"Ok, I only used it once and that was to order pizza but I promise I won't do it again!" I said getting nervous. I'd taken one of the credit cards from the Boss's office at home and had used to order pizza once. I was starving and since I hadn't gotten a paycheck yet I couldn't get any food. I really had no choice. The house came stocked with fresh vegetables in the fridge, plenty of select meats in the freezer and a cabinet full of spices and seasoning but I'd gone through all of the pasta in the house—that's the only thing I can make safely—so I had no choice but to order out. I'm no cook and after being poor for so long I kind of enjoy the taste of processed and packaged foods. Scold me if you will, but ordering out was better than burning the place down in an attempt to make something fancy.

"Please don't fire me." I said pleadingly.

Jet squinted at me. "You did what?"

"Uh…." I paused unsure of what we were discussing now.

"You weren't talking about the credit card were you?" I asked.

He shook his head, "But please, continue,"

"Great," I mumbled walking around the desk to sit in my chair. I sighed trying to give myself some time to make my story sound good. "I used one of the Boss's credit cards to order a pizza the other day but I won't do it again, I was just hungry and I didn't have money and I—"

"Its ok," said Jet cutting me off "as long as it wasn't delivery."

I bit my lip.

"Katara," sighed Jet "Please tell me you didn't have the pizza delivered to the Boss's home, the home he's tried so hard to keep a secret from the world."

I nearly burst into tears. "I wasn't thinking!" I cried but Jet held up his hand calming me down instantly.

"It's ok, I'll work it out. Just try to remember not to do that again." he said turning to leave.

"Wait," I called "where are you going?"

"To sort this out," he answered.

"But you said you came to give me a warning."

Jet snapped his fingers as if remembering what he'd come for. "Oh yes," he said turning to face me again. "I hope you studied all the paperwork I left with you about the company"

I rolled my eyes at his statement because with all of the spare time I have I'd practically _memorized_ all of the paperwork he'd given me—ok, I'm lying. I studied them often, but I hadn't memorized the papers. There was just _so_ _many_. A pile that came up higher than my ankles, I did, however, organize them accordingly and placed certain files in areas I thought would be convenient. Like, I put all the information about my Boss's favorite foods in the cabinet near the refrigerator at home, and all the files that have to do with his scheduling in the top right drawer on my desk.

"I came to tell you the Boss is coming in today." said Jet startling me.

"Today!?" I gasped slapping my hands to my cheeks. They burned in anxious surprise. I was both excited and nervous but for some reason I also felt afraid. Everyone at the office seemed to have so much reverence for this "Boss" by the way they went on about him I began to feel like he wasn't respected by the employees, but _feared_. Why? I can't say, but that's what scared me the most. Why does everyone seem to follow the rules so adamantly? As if the punishment for breaking them would be death. Why does an entire room full of adults walk on eggshells at the very sound of the word "Boss"? And why doesn't this "Boss" man have an actual name?

"Jet," I said, my excitement melting away.

He leaned against the framing of the door waiting for me to speak. "Hmm?"

"This Boss, what if he—"

"He'll love you," informed Jet with a comforting smile on his face. "That's why I hired you Katara, I just know that he'll love you."

"Right," I said blushing wildly "Um, what time does he come in?"

Jet glanced at his watch. "About half an hour, maybe less, could be any minute really his schedule is just so unpredictable."

"Half an hour!?" I shrieked "Oh my God, I have to get ready!" I ran around the office like I was on fire organizing papers, tossing out candy bar wrappers I'd left behind, even crouching down on my hands and knees to sweep up some crumbs I'd neglected—I'm a sloppy eater.

"Get out!" I ordered grabbing my purse and shoving Jet out of the doorway. He'd been standing there chuckling at my circus act.

"Calm down," he soothed patting my shoulder "The Boss won't mind a little dirt; he's just in charge of the company, not the _world_. You don't have to impress him."

"Yes I do," I said still guiding him through the open office full of cubicles and old men past all of the pervs "you said I only have a month to prove myself to him, so far it's been two weeks and I haven't even met the guy. After today, who knows when I'm going to see him again? This may be my only chance to impress him."

Jet stopped walking once we reached the hallway. "Katara," he said hand ironing his suit. I'd wrinkled it a bit when I was rushing him out. "You'll do fine, trust me."

"I'll do fine if I impress him. Thank you for your encouragement Jet but I have to go, I have papers to organize, documents to email and makeup to apply."

"Makeup?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Oh please," I said waving my purse at him "don't get all holier-than-thou on me; everyone knows even the best look better with a bit of _something _on their face." I rolled my eyes as I pushed past him heading towards the nearest bathroom—or at least I thought I was headed towards the nearest bathroom. Before I knew it I was lost, I guess I'd neglected the files that included maps of the building because I was rounding corner after corner and even went up a stairwell. I was about to give up when I emerged from the staircase onto a floor with only one door in the middle of the hallway.

It was a large black door that had big bold letters on it spelling; Restroom. I couldn't help it; I had to go fix myself up.

I promised to spend only five minutes in the bathroom so that I could hurry and get back to cleaning my dirty office but when I walked inside I was taken aback. It wasn't bathroom at all.

Behind the black door was an all black room, it was dimly lit with another door on the other side and had weapons of all sorts hanging about the walls and adorning even the ceiling as well. I gasped in shock at what I was seeing and squeezed my eyes shut convinced that I was dreaming.

I wasn't.

My mouth hung open as I teetered through the room on my tall heels lightly touching each gun within my height's reach, which was only like the three right in front of me and the three above my head. Forget the ceiling. There were handguns, machine guns, shot guns and, I'm no weapons expert, but I swear there was even a bazooka there. Not trying to resist temptation I reached up, standing even on the tip toes of my heels, and grabbed the bazooka holding it firmly in my hands. It was incredibly heavy, incredibly large and amazingly beautiful. I felt like I was holding raw power in my hands.

And then the door in front of me flew open.

"Crap!" I whispered holding the bazooka.

The man in front of me stared with his mouth open and his hands clenched into fists. He looked angry at first and then, taking sight of me and the bazooka, he looked afraid.

"What are you doing here?" he asked holding up his hands defensively. I took notice to his instant fear of me, happy that my size didn't matter. Granted he was scared because of the bazooka which I'm sure weighed more than I do but whatever. I felt powerful for a second, the man was big and scary but cowered in fear of my massive weapon and then I opened my mouth to speak and he realized instantly I wasn't as big a threat as I'd hoped to sound.

I stuttered on my words trying to explain but that didn't matter because he wasn't even listening. Before I knew it he'd launched himself at me and I was falling backwards onto my butt the bazooka flying across the room, thank God it didn't set off. He raised his fist and cracked me twice in the jaw using his other hand to effortlessly pin me to the floor while he grabbed his radio and shouted; "Code red! Brown female, dark hair, blue eyes, possibly a spy," he paused and looked at me lying there moaning in pain. Man he's strong, my jaw was already throbbing. "Either a spy or a hooker." he said gawking at my boobs.

I grew angry as I fidgeted beneath him, "I'm not a hooker!" I shouted trying to fight back but it was useless. He let go of his radio and cracked me twice more, "Shut up!" he screamed "Where are you from? Who sent you!?"

I sputtered and spit blood from my mouth as my head went lolling around in a confused daze. "I don't know what you're talking about." I whispered painfully.

Seconds later more men appeared in the doorway and, with little to no effort, they snatched me up and brought me into the space behind them. From what I could see, I was thrashing around so violently I didn't pay much attention; but the next room was like a completely different world. Men everywhere, in jet black muscle shirts with the word State written on the back in bright red lettering matched with dark jeans. There were desks, phones ringing and computers being used. I screamed for help, trying desperately to get free but no one paid me any attention and before the men carrying me even reached their destination I petered out.

The man carrying me kicked open a large door and dropped me violently into a chair, it was the only chair in the room, it was the only _thing_ in the room. The place was all black with one hanging light in the center of the room. It flickered on and off at random intervals giving the room that horror film, torture chamber feeling. Instantly I jumped up and tried to make a break for the door, no way was I going to be locked in there with him. But, just like before, he overpowered me and in seconds I was back in my chair except this time the other men with him came to my side and put straps on my arms and legs tying me to chair and preventing me from moving.

"What's going on?" I asked finally calming down. The man who'd carried me inside chuckled. He was a tall guy, massive actually, and had the dourest of faces I'd ever seen. He was big but wasn't fat just kind of muscular, and he too wore a black t-shirt with the word State written in red lettering on it. He had a gun strapped to his waist and two more on holsters hanging below his armpits and on the hip opposite his gun he had a large black canister of what I guessed was pepper spray.

"You tell me what's going on." said the giant man.

"I'm here for my job, I'm an assistant—" he stepped forward and slapped the spit from my mouth.

"Stop lying!" he roared vehemently.

"I'm not!" I screamed just as loud as him.

One of the other guys, a very small one, probably a teenager, stepped forward and spoke softly to me. He was actually kind of cute with his dark hair and wispy bangs. I liked him right away.

"I believe you," he said kneeling to touch my hand. I smiled crookedly, thanks to the severe punching I'd suffered earlier, and nodded my head.

"Why don't you tell us about this job?" he asked.

"I needed a job, so I applied and I came in for an interview two weeks ago," I confessed looking over the boy's shoulder at the Viking behind him. The kid glanced over his shoulder too and stood exhaling.

"Don't worry about him; he's always been a brute, just talk to me."

"I don't like him." I spat, literally, spit and blood flew from my mouth right along with my words.

"I don't either," said the boy, "tell me what's going on."

I glanced around at the other men, one, who was small and skinny, strongly resembling a female was next to the Viking smiling sourly and the other stood silent in the corner of the room not paying us any attention.

"I'm just here for my job, like always."

The radio on the silent man's hip buzzed and all eyes were on him. He spoke into it tersely and then looked at the Viking. "Boss is on his way." said the silent one stunning me with his smooth voice.

The Viking sucked his teeth and rolled his eyes, "Fun's over." he said slapping the teenager on his back.

We all stood—I sat—in the room in silence. I spent my time hoping the Boss they were speaking of wasn't _my_ boss since his very name ceased all action in the room but I knew better. The others just stood silent looking around, except the Viking; he made a point of never taking his eyes off of me, or my boobs which were poking out loud and proud thanks to our scuffle.

Finally the door swung open and in walked a tall, well-built man. He had pale skin and jet black hair, golden eyes and the most vicious expression on his face I'd ever seen. He was obviously someone of authority as he was wearing a black suit and tie underneath his long, sweeping pea-coat, instead of that t-shirt and lettering getup. A gun rested on his hip and a radio adorned his other along with a thick set of keys. All the men bristled and straightened up as soon as he walked in and when he spoke they strained their ears listening with rapt attention.

"What's going on?" he asked in a dark, raspy voice—it was so distinct.

No one spoke, not even the Viking. The pale man turned his back to me, not even acknowledging my presence.

"I got a code red," he said reaching down to pat his radio "I just left a meeting that would potentially seal the deal with a multi-billionaire. Someone had better tell me what the fuck is going on and it had better be good." I shook in fear at his words, I don't know who was scarier; the pale man known as the 'Boss' or the brutal Viking who'd slapped me around. Clearly the 'Boss' was smaller in size but Viking boy was breaking a sweat just from hearing him speak, he was smaller than Viking but more powerful by miles.

"I found a spy in the weaponry." said Viking in a light tone.

"Are you sure it was a spy?" asked the 'Boss'. _It?—_I thought shrinking at his referral.

I thought about speaking up and protesting but I didn't want to get slapped by Viking again and I sure as hell didn't want to receive a blow from the 'Boss'.

"Yes, she was holding a bazooka." answered the scared little puppy. He pointed over the Boss's shoulder at me.

And that's when I truly became afraid. I hadn't seen his face, not his whole face. Just a profile when he first walked into the room, he looked handsome from the side. Dark hair decorating that strong jaw and intense blazing eyes, he was gorgeous to me. But when he turned to face me head on, everything changed.

There, on the side of his face was a brutal scar. It ate up half his face in angry wreckage ruining one of his eyelids and gobbling up his ear. It was totally incongruous with the rest of his icy features and only multiplied my fear of him tenfold. _What the heck did he do to earn that?_ I thought my eyes growing wide as I took sight of him. He didn't even flinch, I know he noticed my reaction to his face but he didn't respond; he must be used to people staring at it.

He looked down at me and grimaced. I guess with my wrinkled clothes, bloodied nose and messed hair I looked worse than him. Even with that ugly scar.

"What is this?" he asked spitting every word. I felt so tiny when he spoke—he was so mean.

"It's a girl," said the Viking, "we brought her here for you."

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**Thanks for reading, hope y'all enjoyed, sorry if that seemed short but I'll be updating within the next week or so, so hang tight. Drop a review please, and thanks again to Macy and Quirkista—don't forget to check out her story! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for reading my last post. I'm pleased with the positive response, please enjoy this update and God bless.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own any of the characters or plotline of Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

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Chapter Three

I sat there looking up at the 'Boss' wondering what he was going to do to me and wondering what the Viking had meant when he'd said that I was brought here for him.

"What did you do to her?" asked the Boss.

"She tried to shoot me." said Viking.

Boss squinted as he looked me over stepping close to me and jolting my heart. It raced faster than any normal heart should ever pump, I was sure I was going to have a heart attack soon. _Please don't hurt me_, I thought squeezing my eyes shut.

"Did you try to shoot my employee?" he asked. I shook my head vigorously and he pulled his face away from mine.

Everyone stood silent waiting for something to happen, then, and thank God, the door once again swung open and this time in walked a lean brown man, it was Jet. All the men, including me, seemed to look relieved as soon as he walked inside.

"What's going on?" he asked looking over at me, then taking a double take he said eagerly; "Boss, I can handle it from here."

The scarred man didn't take his eyes off me. "Did you sign the deal?" he asked.

"Its ours." answered Jet.

The Viking spoke up again. "I found this girl in the weaponry, she's a spy."

"No I'm not!" I shouted then, I guess as an attempt to look tough, the Viking stepped around the Boss and smacked me again.

"Stop." said Jet sternly, his voice dropped to a threateningly low octave and the Viking instantly calmed.

"Who is she?" asked the Boss.

"A spy!" repeated the Viking. Boss shot him a glare.

"I'm here for work." I said spitting out more blood, I was going die soon, I just knew it.

Jet shook his head disapprovingly and rushed to my side, everyone looked on with surprise crawling across their faces. _Yes_, I thought, _I'm saved_. "She's telling the truth," said Jet "she works here, for the Enterprise."

He turned around and glared at the Viking, "She's not a spy you idiot, I called her here!"

I half-smiled, glad that the Viking was getting reprimanded. "Get these straps off of her," ordered Jet but the Boss intervened.

"How do you know she wasn't a spy?" he asked standing between us preventing him from rescuing me.

"I called her here," he repeated "she's the one who accepted the assistant position." That's right, I was just supposed to come in, sit at my desk all day and leave. It was simple at first, a bit boring but simple nonetheless, despite the new house and awesome pay I was seriously rethinking my job at the moment. I mean who comes into work and gets attacked then accused of being a spy against the very company you're employed at?

"Then why was she in the weaponry?" asked the Boss. I kept my mouth shut tight. I didn't think it'd look nice if they found out I'd just waltzed inside.

Viking spoke up again. "I may have left it open." he muttered and the 'Boss' went off. He yelled curse words and other obscenities at the tall brute and the Viking said nothing in return. He stood quietly and took his verbal lashing with much shame and I was happy.

"You're lucky I don't fire you." said the Boss turning on his heel. He marched over to me and ripped the straps from my limbs; I fell limp in the chair and slumped my head suddenly tired. A pair of strong arms lifted me up and the next thing I knew I was waking up inside my room at home.

"Where am I?" I asked moving around. I was in my usual bed not strapped down but I still couldn't move because my body was sore all over.

"Hello?" I half-yelled my voice hoarse from not speaking for awhile.

The door to the room opened and in walked the scarred man. My heart pounded in my chest beating the crap out of my ribs and nearly shredding my diaphragm to pieces.

"Are you alright?" he asked gruffly, I'm not even sure he cared. I bet he was asking because it was _protocol_.

I shook my head.

"What's going on?"

"It's all just a big misunderstanding." he said maintaining his position across the room. He didn't move from the doorway instead he decided to lean against the framing arms crossed and legs shoulder width apart as he spoke loudly from the other side of the area.

"What do you mean?" I asked sitting upright.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You were in a place you shouldn't have been but that was because one of my employees dumbly left the door unlocked. I apologize for your injuries and you should know my subordinate has been dealt with accordingly for hitting you. Your medical bills are on my tab and you can keep your clothes when you leave. I have no need for them." he finished his statement and quickly turned on his heel to leave. But I stopped him.

"Wait!" I said reaching out.

To my surprise, he stopped walking.

"Why would I leave? Are you … firing me?" I'm not going to lie, this job definitely isn't my favorite but I enjoyed working with Jet and I enjoyed having a decent roof above my head for the first time in years. Plus the pay was amazing—well it looked amazing when I signed my contract, I have yet to receive any of that pay of course but whatever.

Boss turned to face me giving me another good long look at his gruesome scar. It really was hard not to stare but I couldn't help myself. I've never seen anyone so … _hurt_ before.

"I'm not firing you woman, you were never hired."

He turned to leave again but I stopped him once more.

"I have a name and its Katara, uh, Sir."

"Well then, _Katara_, you were never hired so don't feel insulted you never had a chance at getting this job anyway."

"How would you know?" I snapped "You were never even here while I worked."

That turned him back around except he was ten times angrier and didn't hesitate to get in my face. Boss stormed right up to me in bed and whispered into my ear.

"You don't want to mess with me Katara," he hissed "you think you've got what it takes to work here?" he pulled away glaring at me fiercely and before I even knew what I was doing I felt my head nodding in response to his question.

A wicked crack split his face and I realized he was smirking. "Be careful what you wish for … you're hired."

I exhaled breath I hadn't even realized I'd been holding as he finally pulled away from me maintaining eye contact. His eyes seared through mine and shot right through my head. They seemed to literally burn me as he held his gaze and eventually I had to look away. He'd won that staring contest.

"You start work immediately." he said exiting the room. This time, I said nothing in response.

I crawled out of bed ignoring my screaming muscles and limped over to my dresser. To my surprise, all of my clothes were gone. "Right," I whispered slowly walking out to the front door. My two suitcases from before were sitting neatly by the door. "I guess he really was going to fire me." I mumbled grabbing one and digging inside. After showering, I decided to wear the first thing I pulled out; a short, low cut black dress with some white heels and a matching blazer. I pinned my hair up in a chignon as neatly as was possible with my aching arms. Who knew being tackled by a seven foot Viking and then bitch slapped silly would hurt so much later on?

"Time to go," I said grabbing my purse from the counter. I guess it'd been dropped off because I left it in the weaponry when I was tackled and beaten up. There wasn't anything special in it except my house key and the keycard used to open doors I never go through in the office.

Once I'd actually made it inside of State Enterprise I regretted ever talking back to Boss. I was so tired and so sore, I just wanted to collapse—and I nearly did before making it to my desk in the back. Jet's eyes nearly popped from their sockets when he saw me walk through the door.

"What are you doing here Katara!?" he gasped rushing over to me.

He grabbed me by the shoulders and helped me over to my seat. "I'm here to work," I said pulling my chair in. I turned on the computer, grabbed the sandwich he'd been eating and took a bite as I waited for him to scold me.

"But I thought—" he cut himself off.

"You thought Boss was supposed to fire me?" I said finally after an awkward silence. Jet walked towards the door keeping his back to me.

"I'm sorry Katara, it wasn't my idea."

"What the hell is this place?" I asked my voice cracking in anger.

He sighed and answered. "I can't say,"

"What does that mean?"

"I…can't say"

Now I was getting fed up. "Jet I got attacked and strapped to a chair like a fucking prisoner; I think I deserve to know what's going on."

He stared at the floor biting his lip in silence.

"This place isn't just an Enterprise is it?" I asked trying to piece things together. Why would a business need a weaponry leading to a secret back office anyway?

"Katara," said Jet his voice full of remorse "if you're going to work here, you need to accept right now that there are going to be a lot of things happening around here that you won't understand and you won't always get answers for them either."

This time I didn't say anything.

"If you don't want to work here anymore—" he began.

"Don't," I said waving my hand "I can do this, and I'm going to prove it right now."

"But you're in terrible condition," he said facing me. His face was lined with a worried expression.

"I've got this," was all I had time to say before the devil came waltzing through the door. First I never see him for two full weeks now he was just popping up all over the place!

He walked past Jet, then me and stopped at the door to his office. "Jet," he said, his low voice cutting through the silence in the air.

Jet jumped to life. "Yes, Sir?" he nearly shouted surprised to be called on.

"Be ready in five, we've got another appointment."

Jet bit his lip and opened his mouth to speak but only a sigh managed to escape him.

Boss turned around. "Is there something the matter?" he asked not really expecting an answer but to both of our surprise Jet spoke up.

"I've actually got another appointment of my own," he said nervously.

Boss raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"I mean, it's a meeting with potential clients, a really big deal. They've been scheduled for this for months now—I can't cancel."

"You're my right hand man," said Boss, "who the hell else is supposed to assist me?"

I jumped at the opportunity to prove my self-worth. "Uh, I could go," I said cutting in. suddenly all eyes were on me.

"You said I was hired didn't you?" I asked daring to look Boss in the eye "And I'm your assistant, I should be going with you anyway right?"

"Wrong," spat Boss pulling a key from his pocket. He turned and unlocked the door leading to his office with me stumbling and tripping behind him and Jet swiftly walking close behind. I followed him inside trying to explain myself and tell him that I'd never be able to prove that I could work here if he didn't give me a chance but he completely ignored me. In fact when I was done he told me to bring him a cup of coffee and to take my time coming back.

"No," I spat stomping my foot. He and Jet raised their eyebrows together.

"How can anyone expect me to earn their respect if they won't give me a chance?" I crossed my arms and began to raise my voice.

"You all walk around here so smug and rude, I know you don't think I can handle myself but if you would just give me the chance to I could actually prove you wrong!"

"Katara," said Jet interjecting but I ignored him.

"And you!" I spat pointing right at Boss. He was sitting in his large, leather chair behind his desk with that same stupid smirk on his face from before as if he was entertained by what I was saying.

"You act like you own this place! Who do you think you are!?" Ok, that was a stupid statement but I was getting desperate, I just wanted to insult him as much as he'd insulted me earlier and I guess I did because he got angry and gave me a much deserved verbal lashing as soon as the words had left my mouth.

"I act like I own this place because I do godammit," he said rising to his feet "so stop throwing a fucking hissy fit and get back to your desk work. You can't go to this meeting because you don't know how this company works yet and you look like shit. I'm not taking anyone with me that looks like they've just rolled out of bed."

"Maybe I _did_ just roll out of bed!" I shouted "I was beaten up and then tied to a chair; sorry I don't look like a fucking supermodel _your_ _highness_!"

I stormed out of his office slamming the door behind me and returned to my desk wiping tears from my eyes as I flipped through the unattended papers that'd begun to pile up. Behind me I could hear angry whispers going back and forth between Boss and Jet. They were talking about me, no doubt, but I refused to care. I was probably going to be fired anyway for my inappropriate outburst but I didn't care about that either. It was now clear that everyone wanted me to fail here; otherwise they'd have given me the opportunity to succeed.

A few moments later the door swung open and Jet rushed out. He walked right by me without saying a word or even glancing my way then Boss came out just as hurried but he stopped at my desk. I kept my eyes forward pretending not to notice the fact that he was standing right in front of me.

"Get your purse," he grumbled slapping a folder stuffed with papers onto my desk "I'm leaving in two minutes."

I had to practically run down the hall behind Boss as he took giant strides, well they were probably normal sized but compared to me everyone takes big steps. We rounded a corner and dashed through a long glass hallway stopping at a large door. He paused and fixed his already perfect tie. I checked my boobs. He opened the door.

Inside were, of course, all men. I rolled my eyes and thought I should be used to that by now. It was only three of them and they each gawked at my boobs mercilessly. Boss greeted them with firm handshakes and I smiled a fake pliant grin and shook their hands as well.

"This is my assistant," introduced Boss motioning to me. The three pervs were already staring at my boobs anyway; he needn't motion to me at all.

"Ms. Rorano," he said looking at them confused. He raised an eyebrow and looked down at me trying to figure out what they were all staring at and I smiled innocently. Like some cosmic alien, Boss didn't notice my boobs at all. Instead he raised his hand and flicked something off my cheek, "Crumb." he mumbled probably thinking some rude comment about how sloppy I eat.

"Ms. Rorano, this is Jarren," the first guy nodded "Mika," the second guy nodded "and Cato." The third guy stared at my boobs. I smiled at each of them and nodded politely cursing myself for choosing to wear that stupid low cut dress.

"They're possible clients of mine." he explained. I couldn't have cared less but I smiled and nodded again and Boss went on to explain further. Apparently the perverted men were looking for some media power to support their campaign. They were each running for some official position in the Fire Nation and none of the major news stations would run a commercial that had anything to do with them. If their leadership skills were anything like their obsessive carnal needs then I could understand why. But they were clients so I kept that thought to myself.

Boss paid rapt attention to the men as they explained making sure to absorb all of their information. I took notes on a pad that'd been resting on the table when I sat down and when they'd finished Boss said; "I can have my men work something out for a small fee." He looked over at me.

At first I raised my eyebrows wondering what the heck he was staring at me for and when I felt him step, painfully, down on my foot I understood what he wanted.

"Our prices," I said stifling a painful grunt, Boss let up off my foot. I rambled through the folder he'd slapped onto my desk before leaving and read off a piece of paper nearly ripping my eyes out as I did so. I couldn't believe the astronomically large numbers I saw on the paper. No wonder the State Company is so rich I didn't think some of those numbers existed. But none of the old pervs paid any of the prices attention, each one stared at my boobs; it was so obvious I felt uncomfortable. Mika even had his mouth open for a second.

"I don't know," said Cato still looking at my boobs. I glanced up at the Boss lightly nudging him with my arm hoping he'd noticed but he just glared at me for interrupting him while he was with a client.

"Those prices are kind of steep." _Like he'd even heard them!_ I thought shamelessly rolling my eyes, but the Boss stepped on my foot again and I sat up straight, poking out my chest in a reflexive response.

Cato licked his lips—gross. "If we sign a deal can we have a celebratory dinner?" he asked staring at me. I raised an eyebrow, Boss cleared his throat. "We only offer those with package deals."

"Does she come in the package?" asked Mika—to my boobs.

It took everything within me to suppress the urge to kick him beneath the table. I am not some item to be bought and passed around.

But Boss smiled and said; "Of course, but only if you promise to refer us to potential clients in the future."

I glared up at him, he was selling me off! But again he shot me that bitch-calm-down face and I fizzled out. The three farts talked fiercely amongst themselves each glancing up to look at my boobs at least twice and then, finally, they reached a consensus.

"We're in." they said in unison eyeing my boobs altogether.

They signed the deal and Boss and I stood to leave, he wore a huge grin, I simmered in anguish. I couldn't believe he'd treated me that way; he used me as some tool.

"Have a wonderful day Miss," said Mika behind me. I groaned loudly not caring if I offended them—they'd already signed a contract but my Boss, who was walking behind me, jabbed me sharply in the back with his finger and I winced in pain.

"What was that for?" I asked once we were outside reaching to massage my back. He glowered and exhaled fiercely. _Clearly_ upset.

"That was terrible!" he half shouted.

I squinted. "Didn't we just make the deal? I think it went quite well." I said pompously.

He rolled his eyes, "You couldn't have looked more unprofessional." Then, and he did this quite conspicuously, he looked right down at my boobs and groaned in anger. "People will think I've stooped to _such_ a low level!" he cried.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked angrily. I swear he _did_ stoop to such a low level in that meeting and even though I'd hated it, I took offense to the fact that he was angry about my good looking boobs. It wasn't my fault men loved them.

"Can't you put those away, those men were practically drooling!" he shouted. I huffed and grew angrier.

"Well without my boobs your dull ass wouldn't have sold a thing!" I shouted—so there!

I stormed off and ignored him as he called after me. I didn't care that he was my boss or that he scared the crap out of ten foot Vikings, the man was a jerk and I was not going to let him mistreat me.

I stormed back to my office and slammed the door behind me ignoring the quick, infuriated stomps that followed close behind. Almost as soon as I sat down HE walked in behind me, slammed the door behind himself and marched over to my desk.

"What do you want?" I snapped instantly getting angry. He glared at me just like in the meeting except this time it was more of a don't-try-me-bitch look and, just like before, I flickered out.

He leaned in and pointed a finger in my face as he spoke. "Next time you walk away from me like that—" I slapped his stupid finger away but he just poked it back and repeated himself. "Next time you walk away from me like that, don't plan on walking back into work the next day." His voice was stern and I knew he was serious—he'd just fired me this morning, how could he not be serious? I said nothing in response.

He glared at me bit longer and then said; "I have another meeting with a client in ten minutes, let's go."

I stood and turned to go to clean myself up but he stopped me. "Wait," he said holding up a hand, "where are you going?"

"To change, I don't want to look _unprofessional_." I said derisively. He winced at my words.

"I'm sorry," he said "you helped make an important deal today."

I crossed my arms. "I shouldn't have yelled at you," he continued.

I raised my eyebrows. "Don't change," and finally he said while glancing away, "You don't look like _complete_ shit."

"Seriously?" I snapped—would it kill him to complement me?

He chuckled. "You look…acceptable."

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**Sorry! I had to cut it off here, it was getting a little too long. Don't worry; the next chapter will be better, I hope you liked it, I know it's off to a slow start but bear with me. Thanks for reading and God bless. **


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm sorry this update took so long. I hadn't planned on making you guys wait such a long time but things sort of slipped away over the semester. My finals are next week so I should have more free time soon. Anyway, thanks for all of the positive reviews, please enjoy and God bless!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own any of the characters or plotline of Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

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Chapter Four

"I eventually won him over and now he lets me wear whatever I want. I can't believe he thought I was _trying_ to seduce those men—and can you actually believe he doesn't notice my girls? He's the only one I've never caught staring down my shirt; it's so weird."

Suki laughed into the phone after I stopped talking to breath. "Just because you haven't caught him doesn't mean he hasn't taken a sneak peak yet."

I laughed too. "No you don't understand, he's like some kind of robot. All he thinks about is work and all he talks about is work, it's like he's not interested in anything besides making deals and taking on these weird jobs that he won't give me any information on."

"That's not possible," said Suki confidently "_every_ man has carnal needs Katara, even the hard asses."

"Well not this hard ass," I harrumphed.

"Why don't you try to seduce him? You guys live together right?"

I rolled my eyes as I played with the phone cord. "It's more like we have a house together but I live in it alone. He's never here, seriously I've had dinner alone every night since I started here and that was almost a month ago!"

"Well you could quit any time and come live with Sokka and I." she offered, Suki was practically desperate to get me out of State Enterprise. She tried to bribe me to come live with her every time we spoke over the phone but I always managed to fight her off. I haven't even dared to tell her about my little fiasco in the weaponry, she'd have a fit and give herself an ulcer if she found out but I would never tell her—I don't know how. I don't even know for sure what happened and I don't know how to ask anyone. It's been on my mind since it occurred but I can't get myself to open my mouth about it, what's worse is that everyone else has just gone on with their lives as if it never happened at all. And I haven't seen those guys that attacked me since—who were they? And what was that room back there? Honestly, it looked like some sort of secret service area.

Suki's bounty hunting theory crossed my mind for a fraction of a second but her voice on the other end of the phone cut my thoughts in half. "Hello?" she said sounding worried "You still there?"

"Yeah," I said sighing "listen, I like where I work and the pay is well worth it. I'll ring you later ok?—gotta get to work."

"Of course," she said with a hint of anger on her tongue, and then she added "I don't know what he's paying you but it'd better be worth it if you're up at three in the morning to get ready, and why do you always call him 'Boss'? Doesn't he have a name?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll explain later, bye Suki."

"Bye girl."

I hung up the phone with another sigh escaping me. Talking with Suki was always refreshing, I need to hear her voice sometimes to keep me connected with the life I used to live. It wasn't the best—by far, but it was nice. I had friends and a loving family. Now all I have is an overbearing boss and a ridiculous schedule. And now Suki keeps asking questions about my job, questions that I can't exactly answer. Like why I don't know my boss's name yet, and why he has me wake up so early and why I have to sleep by the phone so that I won't miss his call. I can't explain the answers to any of those questions because I don't know them. I just follow the rules, get my paycheck and be happy. So far I've gotten two checks, both of which were sent off to my old roommates for rent I owed them and food they'd purchased for me. I'm happy I was able to pay them back but it makes me wonder too, is it really worth it?

I mean I'm pretty sure the room I saw when I was beat up by that Viking was something of a weaponry but so far Boss and I haven't crossed any clients that want us to go into battle or anything. And why don't I know my Boss's real name? I never thought to ask, everyone calls him Boss, or Sir. The clients either don't call his name or refer to him as Mr. State. But could that be his last name? I mean what else would anyone name a billion dollar company? But then, what's his first name? And what's up with that scar on his face?

I shook my head trying to clear my thoughts as I grabbed my purse and headed out the door. All these questions were beginning to overwhelm me and give me a headache which I was not in the mood to suffer through this early in the morning. It was just after 3 A.M. and I was heading out for work. Boss called the house in something of a panic and demanded I be in my office before three thirty. As usual I followed orders without question and here I am waltzing into the dark and empty office before sunrise. I was tired and cranky and in desperate need of a warm caramel cappuccino but I was happy that none of the pervs were in the office yet to wolf whistle at me or gawk at my boobs. They were out loud and proud today in my fitted cream dress with a plunging neckline.

Jet was sitting on my desk when I pushed through the double glass doors. "Morning love," he said smiling wide.

I smiled back suppressing a huge yawn as I trotted over to give him a hug. "Is Satan here yet?" I mumbled into his shoulder.

He chuckled lightly. "Not yet, he should be soon though."

"What's this all about?" I asked pulling away.

Jet reached behind himself on the desk and passed me a warm cup.

"Caramel cappuccino?" I asked, my eyes glowing with excitement.

He smiled as he nodded and watched me take slow sips. "Boss has some clients flying in early; he wants us to greet them at their hotel."

"Why!?" I snapped getting angry. Can't they just go to bed and greet us when the sun's up?

Jet chuckled. "They're foreigners."

"And?"

"And foreigners usually go back home at some point in time,"

"And?"

"And when they do they usually tell their friends about their trip and—"

"And you guys get free advertising." I said finishing his explanation.

He pressed his lips together. "I know it's annoying to have to do this but we really want to show our gratitude."

"You mean you really want to kiss some rich foreigner's ass?"

"Well," he said laughing lightly but he never got to finish his statement because Boss walked inside and all the fun was sucked out of the room instantaneously.

"Ready to go?" he asked standing in the doorway. He glanced at Jet who reflexively turned away to grab the briefcase resting on the desk behind him, then he looked at me.

"Pour that coffee out and eat a mint." he ordered walking away, Jet and I followed swiftly behind.

"Why?" I asked clutching my cup "I haven't even drank half yet."

"Because I don't want coffee breath ruining my chances of signing this deal."

I pulled a face and mumbled. "I doubt my breath will be the sourest thing in the room."

"What's that?" he asked glancing over his shoulder but I didn't respond instead I simply tossed my cup into the nearest trash bin and grabbed a mint from my purse. In a way, he was right, coffee breath was the worst.

Once we reached the garage Boss picked the first car he saw, an expensive all black four door something, with leather seats, a sunroof, and jet black tinted windows. He got into the driver's seat, I was going to get into the back but Jet opened the passenger's door for me so I had to sit next to the devil while he got the back all to himself.

"Jerk," I whispered as I passed Jet and flopped down next to the Boss. He smirked as he climbed into the back but didn't say anything in return.

"Jet," said Boss as he began to back out of the garage.

"Yes, Sir" replied Jet reaching into the briefcase he'd been carrying. He shuffled around in there for a moment then passed me a small stack of about twenty pages. Compared to the papers I'm usually handed from Boss, this was nothing. I guess all those attempts to make it big in the entertainment world gave me incredible memorization skills because I never came up short whenever a client asked me a question. That or the fact that all the clients I've ever dealt with only asked me questions about whether or not I was for sale. They'd usually say it nicer though, something like; "I'm in need of a nice assistant, someone really like this one," to which Boss would usually reply; "This one's mine, but I could find you another. Besides, you don't want to deal with what I have to on a daily basis."

I could get insulted by that but that rude remark has saved me from countless seventy year old perverts just looking for a booty call. So I'm actually somewhat thankful.

"We're working with a family?" I asked flipping through some of the papers.

Jet leaned forward and pointed to some information. "Yes," he affirmed "they're a fairly wealthy family from a small island in the Earth Kingdom; I think they're of the Keyon clan."

I stared at the paper feeling the lumps under my fingers from the raised design of the insignia on the bottom corner of the paper. It was a lizard with five horns and a tongue longer than its tail slithering from its mouth. I grimaced at its hideousness and hoped the family's personality didn't mirror their little animal thing.

"I've never heard of them," I mumbled flipping through more papers. "What exactly are they looking for?" I turned to Boss at this question because no matter how many papers he gave me before going into meetings with him I never knew what the client actually wanted. I could tell you their date of birth and favorite food, but not what business they have with State Enterprise. We seem to get the oddest requests from our clients, a baker that can make a cake the size of a twelve foot human. Connections to anyone selling tigers to people under thirty five, and there was this one man who asked us to help him find orphan girls between the ages of thirteen and seventeen who enjoyed, uh, _extramural_ activities. I didn't question that one, but I did make sure the girls we gave him were virgins and Boss required they still be virgins when they are returned to their orphanage once their little excursion is complete.

"They're looking for open lots," answered Boss keeping his eyes on the road.

I stared at his profile for a moment enjoying its beauty. He looked so calm for a second but I knew better, behind those burning eyes of his was a swirl of stressful emotions and could I blame him? He was always so busy.

"Open lots?" I said thinking about what he'd just told me.

He nodded.

"For what?"

"They want to build something,"

"Something like what?" I asked.

He took a quick sideways glance at me. "I don't know, I haven't asked."

"Why not?"

"Because it didn't cross my mind,"

"Why not?"

"Because I hardly ever ask,"

"Why not?"

"Because I don't care,"

"Why not?"

"Because—Katara, does this even matter?" he said cutting himself off. He tore his eyes from the road to look at me fully now and I immediately cut it out. I knew when I was pushing it.

"Sorry," I said meeting his gaze. "Are we there yet?"

He sighed and looked to the road again then slowing down to turn a corner he said; "Yes, get ready."

The hotel our clients were staying at was probably the best in the Fire Nation; honestly I've only seen pictures of the place in the magazines I used to read while I waited in the grocery line. I was taken aback when I stepped out of the vehicle and saw it for the first time in person; it was bigger and more beautiful than I remember.

"This is it?" I said gawking shamelessly.

Boss smirked at me as he walked ahead and waved us in. The bellhop greeted us happily, shaking each of our hands and taking a second glance at Boss's scar. As usual, Boss ignored the staring and spoke curtly to the youngster.

"Show us the elevator,"

"Yes, Sir" said the boy tearing his eyes away from the gruesome damaged skin on Boss's face. He walked briskly to the elevator and stepped aside for us to go in not taking his sight off of Boss's face for a second as we boarded. He didn't even notice the glare I was shooting him for staring so rudely but it didn't seem to bother Boss, in fact he hardly even noticed.

We rode in the elevator in complete, awkward silence as the metal box inched up floor by floor. We were headed to the eighteenth floor but we may as well have been going on up to heaven at the rate we were travelling. I thought we would never make it there until finally the bell _dinged!_ and the doors opened.

"Be professional, and remember," said Boss staring directly at me "this is a family we're dealing with."

"Why are you looking right at me?" I snapped.

He sighed. "You couldn't have worn something a bit more conservative?" and then his eyes went straight to my flowering cleavage making me cringe.

"Well how was I supposed to know we were going to visit a family? And besides, these girls have won over a dozen old perverted clients since I got here." I said fiercely. Jet laughed over my shoulder and Boss just rolled his eyes.

"Just be on your best behavior," he said turning to knock on the door in front of us.

After one set of heavy knocks the door swung open revealing a very well dressed man in his mid-forties. He was lightly browned in his skin tone and was very tall. He took one look at Boss and smiled wildly.

"Mr. State!" he exclaimed thrusting his large hand forward "You made it!"

"Of course," said Boss shaking the man's hand "I'm glad to see you."

The man stepped to the side to let us all in then he guided us to his office in the back. Another man was waiting inside sitting behind the desk.

"This is Noah," said the first man gesturing to the guy who'd been waiting there for us. He was a nice looking man, pretty average in the face but he was dressed well and had a pleasant smile. His dark brown hair and equally dark brown skin went nice together against his light colored suit. I could tell just from looking at him that he was accustomed to having money but I didn't quite know where he got his cash from. He certainly wasn't related to the man who'd opened the door. The two looked nothing alike; maybe he was a family friend? That was possible, he looked maybe ten years younger than the door guy but they could still be friends, or maybe business acquaintances—or maybe gay lovers?

Noah stood and shook our hands holding onto mine for an extra second so he could get a good, nice look at my cleavage—guess they're not gay lovers—. I ignored his perverseness and smiled sweetly before sitting across from him.

"And I'm Ikki," said the first man sitting down too.

"This is my Vice President, Mr. Fistgow," said Boss gesturing to Jet "And this is my personal assistant Ms. Rorano," he said motioning to me. Both men turned to nod a greeting to me but Noah held his gaze for an extra second then plainly lowered his eyes right to my boobs. He stared for so long I began to blush and fidget in my seat and then everyone else noticed his staring and the moment grew awkward.

Clearing his throat, Boss got everyone's attention and proceeded to get down to business as he shot a quick glance at me that said something along the lines of; _would you cover those up?_ And suddenly I felt even more uncomfortable.

"Now that we're acquainted," said Boss "let's get started."

And that's when the boredom set in. They each talked and talked and talked about buildings and lots and architecture and taxes, and then they had coffee—I had a cappuccino—and then they talked some more, at least Boss, Jet and Ikki talked—Noah just stared shamelessly at my boobs. Then he stared at my lips, then his eyes traveled down to my breasts again and when I couldn't take it any longer I excused myself early.

Everyone raised their eyebrows when I stood and explained that I wasn't feeling well, Boss gave me a disapproving look, as if he could read my thoughts and knew I was feeling fine, but he didn't protest at all and I was thankful. I don't know how much more visual rape I could have suffered through. I'd bet my life savings—which isn't much but whatever—that Noah was having a ball with my boobs in his head.

When I exited the room I went straight for the couch around the corner. The hotel room our clients were staying in was wonderful. It had an office in the back, an open living room, a kitchen in the corner and three closed doors—I'm guessing they were bedrooms. One for Ikki, the dude who answered the door, one for Noah; the boob fanatic, and one more for…? I couldn't place it. Just as I was beginning to wonder the office doors opened and out walked Boss speaking politely to Ikki.

"We will meet up at noon to finish this, yes?" he said expecting a positive response.

"Of course," replied Ikki reaching out to shake his hand. "I'll buy us lunch."

They walked through the living room and stopped when they saw me sitting patiently on the sofa.

"Are you alright Ms. Rorano?" asked Noah holding out his hand to help me up.

I smacked it away in as nice a manner I could manage but everyone noticed and watched me in confusion as I stood to my feet.

"I'm fine," I mumbled averting my eyes to the floor. Just when I was beginning to regret being so rude two young girls came walking through the front door snatching the attention off of me. They were identical twins and couldn't have been older than sixteen years old. One was wearing her hair down and parted straight through the middle, she had on nice jeans, simple white flats and an adorable white shirt with quarter length sleeves. On her head was something of a tiara with the family's emblem right on the center in front. The other, who was identical to the first, was wearing a big robe, she was covered from head to toe and even had scarves wrapped on her head.

"There's my girls!" exclaimed Ikki as he walked ahead of us and put his arms over both girls' shoulders. "These are my daughters, this is Mila," he shook the girl in jeans and she waved shyly "And this is Lila," next the girl in rags waved.

The three of us stood staring at them wondering why they were dressed so differently but Ikki pulled away and spoke before we could ask questions. His voice was different when he talked this time; it was lower and more serious.

"I actually have one more thing to ask of you Mr. State," said Ikki "My daughters need a chaperone while I handle business with you."

"Of course," said Boss "I'll find someone—"

"I'll do it!" I exclaimed cutting him off. Everyone stared at me. I knew I'd spoken out without Boss's consent but I couldn't take another day of testosterone filled conversations about architecture and Earth Kingdom structural laws. I was honestly close to suicide back in the office—I wasn't about to take my chances at noon and I knew Boss would drag me along to be visually raped by Noah. I couldn't take it, I _had_ to get away and this was the only way that I could.

"What?" said Boss staring at me.

"I could do it," I answered looking at Ikki.

"I actually like that idea," said Ikki "she looks like a responsible girl plus I don't have time to interview anyone else you bring me Mr. State so if you don't mind,"

"I do mind," spat Boss shooting daggers at me with his glare.

I ignored his look and said; "I could do this; I know the Fire Nation back and front. I could take the girls site seeing and shopping, I know more about that stuff than I do about empty lots and buildings. I'll just get in the way if I tag along at noon."

"That's true," mumbled Jet.

Ikki stared at me, then looked at Boss who was boiling over in anger at this point. He watched us both for a second thinking to himself, and contemplating his options then, after a moment, he held out his hand for me to shake. "You're hired."

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**I know that was a rather abrupt ending but I didn't want it to get too long. I'll try to update before the end of the week. Sorry for the long wait, and thanks for reading! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for all of the reviews, especially to "Guest" who gave me those corrections on the commas and whatnot. Any tip that'll improve not just this story but my writing overall is **_**very**_** much appreciated! **

**I'm trying to speed up the Zutara development but the plot is getting more complicated than I originally thought so I'm moving, unfortunately, at a slower pace than expected. I just thought I should apologize to everyone for that. But Zutara **_**IS**_** coming soon so don't give up on me yet! Not any romance in this chapter but future fluff should be coming soon. **

**Anyways, please enjoy, Merry Christmas, and God bless!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own any of the characters or plotline of Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

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Chapter Five

"I can't believe you did that," Boss seethed once we were back inside the car. Once again Jet forced me to sit in the front right next to Satan himself and he was more pissed than ever at what I'd done. I felt like crap.

"You don't understand," I said trying to explain, "I just can't go with you guys at noon; I can't take any more boring discussions about architecture."

"This isn't meant to be fun Katara," he snapped turning the key in the ignition; he'd turned it so roughly I thought it'd snapped in half for a second.

"This is serious business and like it or not you'll do as I say not as you _please_."

"You weren't the one being raped by Noah's gross eyeballs." I shuddered as I thought of the way he nonchalantly stared at my boobs almost the entire time.

"I could have spoken to him if you would have told me he was making you uncomfortable." said Boss in a nicer tone.

"Really?" I snapped. "Because lately you seemed like you enjoyed using my…_femininity…_as an advantage!" Seriously, most of the customers we've scored in these past few weeks have been a result of old pervs getting hypnotized by my girls.

"I can't help the fact that you're…" he paused for a moment, choked on his words.

_I'm what?_ I thought raising my eyebrows and hoping for a compliment. He's never really said anything nice about me, _especially_ not about my looks.

Unfortunately Jet cut in ruining the moment. "Cut her some slack Boss," he said lightheartedly, "we can handle this one by ourselves anyway."

"I'm not talking to you Jet," spat Boss returning to his temper. Jet shut up quick and didn't speak for the rest of the ride back to office.

_Thanks a lot Jet_, I thought rolling my eyes, then I said; "It'll be fine. All I have to do is keep a couple of teenagers company for a few hours. What's so bad about it anyway?"

Boss shook his head disapprovingly. "It's not about the shopping and the chaperoning Katara." he said calming his tone. "The Keyon's are very wealthy, they could potentially be targeted for crime or kidnapping while they're here in the city. If you're chaperoning the kids that makes you a target too, don't you understand?"

"Gee Boss, I didn't know you cared about me." I said genuinely.

He shot a sideways glance at me and replied; "As the CEO I have to care for all of my employees—even the particularly incompetent ones."

Wow, he really knows how to make me **not** feel special.

I bit my lip thinking to myself for a moment. "I can fight," I finally said with full confidence in my voice.

Boss rolled his eyes. "I don't think so, those girls need an actual body guard and you're not one." Then he added in a mumbled tone; "You're barely my assistant."

I ignored his comment as I spoke further. "Sorry Boss, I just can't stand to see Noah again, he creeps me out."

"I could have handled that if you would've given me a chance instead of acting so impetuously."

I nodded, "Guess I didn't think of that."

Boss exhaled as he drove and kept his eyes on the road. I knew the issue had been somewhat settled and in a rather good way but I still had one more thing poking at my brain and I just had to ask.

"Can I have a gun?" I asked batting my eyelashes at him while he drove. He shot his vision toward me and snapped;

"No!"

"Oh c'mon," I pleaded, "just a little one. It'll make me seem more official and super badass too."

"No, no, no!" he half-yelled slamming his fist on the steering wheel with each word. "Katara this isn't a joke!"

"I know it's not a joke!" I said throwing my hands into the air. "That's why I'm asking, you're the one who said I could be a potential target and all. I'm just taking precautions, jeez."

"No, you're fooling around. Taking precautions would have been thinking before you acted, instead of leaping at the first chance you saw to get out of an uncomfortable position. You're not taking precautions Katara, you're being a nuisance and you're this close to being fired." He held up his fingers showing me how close I was to losing my job. I know he has a temper and a foul mouth too but I ignored his threat and pressed on.

"If I was fooling around I would've asked Noah for his number and offered to bang Ikki on site,"—the guy was like forty but I have to be honest, he was hot—"I'm not taking this lightly Boss, trust me."

Boss whipped into the garage and took the first available spot. "Just stop Katara," he whispered, his anger beginning to swell over. "I really don't want to hear anymore about this ok? Just prepare a schedule for you and the girls and be back in your office by eleven, got it?"

I nodded silently and he addressed Jet. "Jet come with me."

"Yes, Sir" he said getting out of the car.

With Jet taken hostage by the devil I had no choice but to march up to my office alone. I thought about stopping and heading to the cafeteria but I had a lot of work to do and not much time to do it. I wanted to take the girls shopping, and to a movie, then maybe visit the National Museum of Art and after that we could get lunch. I have no clue how long we'd be together, but I expected at least a few hours. Honestly I was eager to go out with the girls; it'd been awhile since I'd hung out with someone. I was getting desperate. Talking with Suki every morning was nice but she was thousands of miles away living with my brother, that wasn't enough. I needed another human being there, in the flesh. Not over the phone.

It took me the next four and a half hours to put together an acceptable schedule. I had to make phone calls and reservations, highlight maps and call a shuttling service then I had to double check it for perfection and when I was done I was happy, it was pretty decent first draft. The girls and I were going to leave the hotel and proceed to the Museum of Art, then I called ahead and scheduled a visit to the live art display and after that we'll go see a movie and when that's done we'll have something to eat. If it's not time to go home we could hit the mall after that and then finish it off with a trip to the bowling alley!—I love bowling. I actually called and rented out the entire place to ourselves, which was very difficult because there's a league going on right now so every team had to reschedule. I kind of felt bad about that, but not as bad about spending nearly 15k to clear the place out. That's on Boss's tab of course—which I'm not going to tell him about until later.

"Boss is pissed with you," sang Jet walking into my office. He was carrying a tray with two sandwiches and sodas on it. I smiled up at him as I took one of the sandwiches but frowned when I realized what he'd said.

"It's not my fault," I said taking a bite, "and he'll get over it."

"He should've fired you for that,"

I rolled my eyes. "Frankly, I would be happy if he did. I had a much more active social life when I was broke."

"You don't mean that," said Jet sitting on the edge of my desk, he picked up his sandwich and took a big bite. "And you have plenty of friends here."

"Name five," I ordered opening my soda. Maybe I had a ton of admirers, but friends? Let's be honest here, no one spoke to me at the office unless they were trying to hit on me and Boss NEVER held any conversation that wasn't about work and he _barely_ enjoyed those short exchanges. Plus, the few other females I saw in the building every now and then practically hated me. They'd swear I was hired for my tits, like I personally asked God to make them this glorious. Yep, I even wrote him a thank you letter attached to my Christmas wish list.

Jet paused a moment, clearly stumped by the question. "Well, me,"

I held up my hand, cutting him off. "What makes you think I'm your friend?"

He smirked. "C'mon, we get along so great!"

"Yeah, compared to how well I get along with the Boss-man."

"Really, we talk," he said smiling, "and we laugh,"

"And what else?" I asked playfully poking him in the side.

"And…we have lunch together."

I smirked and let out a stupid laugh. "We've never had lunch together besides today Jet."

His face dropped at my statement and suddenly his voice became serious. "I was actually asking you Katara…."

"Asking me what?" I said blinking in confusion. I'd swear he hadn't asked a thing yet.

"To have lunch with me, out of the office, in a nice restaurant, seriously."

Now _my_ face dropped. Have lunch with Jet. That sounded nice, I mean Jet's handsome, and nice to be around, we get along pretty well—but could I have lunch with him? Like on a date? The moment I saw Jet I knew right away I was attracted to him, hell, anyone with a vagina should be attracted to Jet, he's such a sweetheart. But being good looking doesn't make me want to date him, or even have a one night stand with him. Don't get me wrong, I'm not too good for one nighters—I've had my fair share of them but I think maybe _Jet_ is too good for them. He's such a classy guy and I have so much respect for him. I would feel like a whore waking up and sneaking barefoot out of his house at 2 A.M. And on top of that, Jet and I have more of a friendship rather than a potential relationship.

"Katara," said Jet pulling me away from my thoughts.

I looked up at him with a puzzled expression and he knew right away what my answer was going to be.

"Jet," I said trying to explain but he cut me off.

"It's alright, I get it." and before I had the chance to stop him he was out the door leaving his sandwich and soda behind—guess I ruined his appetite.

"Great," I mumbled burying my head in my hands. "I may have just ruined my friendship with him." and as if on cue, in walked the _very_ _last_ person I wanted to see.

"Have you finished your work?" he asked passing by my desk, he stopped right behind my chair and leaned over me. I nodded and kept tapping the keys on my keyboard trying hard to ignore the fact that he was staring over my shoulder. His scent was almost overwhelming, something like an icy fire, if that made sense. I can't describe it in words but I know that I liked it and for a moment I didn't want him to leave but then he asked me;

"What are you working on?" and I was suddenly reminded that he was my boss and this type of attraction wasn't appropriate.

"I'm just making some last minute revisions to the schedule I've put together for the girls and I." I answered.

He exhaled right onto my shoulder blowing his smoky breath around my face and cheek. "Looks nice,"

"Thanks." I replied curtly.

Catching on to my short attitude Boss harrumphed loudly and bumped my chair violently as he proceeded to his back office.

I wasn't in the mood to finish my sandwich, or even look at my soda after the conversation I had with Jet so I ended up finishing my folder on an empty stomach. I headed back to my apartment, took a shower, and changed into a nice beige shirt and dressy slacks. I'm not sure if I even cared about this job anymore, my awkward conversation with Jet left me void of emotions so when it came time to present my portfolio to Boss I refused to care about whether or not he liked it—which he did by the way.

He didn't even read it though, just flipped a page or two then shoved it back at me without any more than a muffled grunt of approval. And then Jet wasn't much better, he came into the office keeping his eyes on the floor; he wouldn't even look my way. I wanted to say something, _anything_ to smooth this out or at least make it less awkward. But I couldn't think of a thing, plus now wasn't the time or place. Boss was about to debrief us on the job and considering I was already in the hot seat I had to pay close attention. No doubt I'd be fired if I didn't follow orders this time.

"We're going back up to the hotel room," said Boss putting on his floor length trench coat. I rolled my eyes at his attire, I mean I was wearing a beige dress shirt and slacks and he looked like he was in mourning. But then, Boss always dressed that way, in dark, expensive suits as if he were attending a funeral. No matter how hot it was outside, he always wore long sleeves, a trench coat, and I swear the extra bulginess on his torso looked something like a bullet proof vest. Suddenly Suki's bounty hunting theory burst into my head and I blinked hard trying to get rid of the thoughts. No way was Boss going around hunting down benders, he's stern, hell, he's a goddamned jackass but he isn't a murderer. At least I don't think he is.

"Do you understand Katara?" asked Boss holding out an object to me—so much for paying close attention.

I blinked in confusion at him and lowered my gaze to his extended hand. He was passing me a cell phone and beneath that, a credit card.

"I've already programmed my number and Jet's number into it and put them on speed dial. We're the only two people you should ever need to call, got it?"

"What about the police?" I asked tucking the phone into my purse.

Boss snorted. "The police don't know shit about handling _my_ sort of trouble."

_Bounty hunting trouble?_ I thought for a split second.

"Check in with me at every hour _on_ the hour, and put all your purchases on my credit card." he said in a stringent voice and I nodded in response. "Don't be afraid to spend any money, trust me, I can cover all of the charges."

He turned to Jet. "Let's go," he ordered brushing past him and walking into the hall. We followed him to the garage climbing into yet another black vehicle with incredibly dark windows. Jet let me have the front seat again except this time I didn't playfully call him a name and he didn't exchange a goofy smirk with me. Things really were awkward between us.

"Do I need to know anything else?" I asked glancing over my shoulder at Jet.

His face was glued to the screen of his cell phone, I know he'd heard me but I just mumbled "Never mind," and turned back around in my seat.

Boss glanced over at me and raised his eyebrows wordlessly asking; _something wrong?_ But I ignored his inquisitiveness and kept my eyes locked on the road ahead. Long story short; we all rode to the hotel in complete, disturbing silence and not a word was spoken on the way up to the room either.

Ikki opened the door for us again when we arrived. He swung it open on the second knock wearing the grandest of smiles I've ever seen and it made me smile in return.

"Mr. State!" he exclaimed thrusting his hand forward again for a nice firm shake. Boss took his hand into his own and shook vigorously.

"You made it!" said Ikki ushering us inside.

"Of course," returned Boss.

Noah and the girls were waiting for us on the couch inside. The girls had changed their clothes since I saw them last. Mila, the one who was originally in jeans was wearing a white knee length dress matched with shining black loafers and a tiara on her head with her family's emblem on it, her sister, Lila, the one wearing the rags was—_still_ in rags, with the exception of a small backpack over her shoulder. Noah stood to his feet to greet us right away, well he stood to his feet to shake Boss and Jet's hands and stare at my boobs again but what's the difference really?

"We'll be going out of the city," informed Ikki looking at Boss and Jet, then he glanced at me and motioned to his daughters "And they'll be going…?"

"Oh, I've got it all planned out," I said fumbling through my papers for the extra copy of our schedule.

He held up his hand stopping me mid-action. "No need, I trust you Ms. Rorano; just have them back for dinner."

"What time is dinner?" I asked looking nervously at the girls. I was hoping we had enough time to do everything I had planned.

"Around six," answered their father.

"Ok, well," I said sending a smile around the circle and stopping at Boss, "I should be going now, I'll check in soon."

The girls silently stood and followed me out only stopping to hug their father and then, and this creeped me out _completely_, Mila, the well dressed one, stood on her tiptoes and kissed Noah—on the mouth!

I guess my face showed my surprise because when Mila pulled away she looked at me like I was crazy and said; "Is there something wrong?"

Though I wanted to scream; _you're only goddamn sixteen—__**maybe!—**__what the hell man!?_, I caught a glimpse of Boss's glare and quickly marshaled my emotions.

"No," I said as convincingly as possible, "ready to go?"

Mila nodded and left the room without looking back.

"Are we heading to the garage?" I asked trotting behind the girls; they were rather quick walkers being more than halfway down the hall before I'd even exited the room.

Lila turned to answer. "Yes, we're going to the vehicle our father designated for our use."

"Ok," I said jogging up to them.

We reached the garage and all climbed into the back of the black vehicle waiting for us in a hurry. I wondered for a second if the hotel was on fire and had silently burned down behind us because the girls were in _such_ a rush but Mila spoke up before that thought even _began_ to make sense.

"Where are we going?" she snapped holding out her hand to me. I stared at it blankly and she began snapping her fingers.

"Quickly," she said as the car pulled out from the garage. "Give me the schedule."

Without thinking I fumbled around in my folder and passed her a copy of the schedule. She held out her other hand and as if reading her mind, Lila quickly passed her sister an ink pen.

"No," said Mila making an X on the paper, she kept doing that until she reached the bottom of the page and nothing was left to cross out.

"Here," she said passing me back the paper, "we can go to the places I've circled only."

"Uh," I said staring at the page, "there's only one place circled."

"I know," she said looking slyly at me. It was the mall.

"We can't spend the next six hours at the mall, it's a fun place to be but it's not _that_ interesting."

She pressed her lips together. "Of course we won't spend the next six hours there silly," said Mila letting out a girlish cackle. "We'll be going other places too."

"Like where?" I said looking at all the X's on the page. "Wait a minute; I'm in charge here ok? _**I**_ say where we go."

Mila snorted. "C'mon, like you really want to spend the day at museums and art exhibits. We're teenagers not fucking college scholars, where the hell is your fun side?"

I sat staring at her eyes wide and mouth open. What did she just say?

Mila winked at me then reached forward and patted the driver's shoulder. "Stop here, let us out." she ordered and on command the man driving pulled over to the curb and unlocked our doors. Again Mila held her hand out to her sister and instinctively Lila passed her a bundle of cash to which she passed to the driver.

"I'll call you when I need you, this spot ok?"

He nodded and got out to let us out.

"What the hell?" I said once he'd driven away. "This is _not_ the mall!"

"I know," said Mila with a smirk. Then, and she did this rather quickly, she reached up and unzipped the side of her dress and pulled it off in one swoop. Underneath she was wearing a mini-skirt and a strapless shirt. Then she looked at Lila and in an instant her sister took off the backpack she'd been wearing, dug out a pair of heels and exchanged them with her flats. Then Lila reached up and pulled off the long floor sweeping dress she'd been wearing revealing a short black dress and bare feet. She then dug out some black heels of her own and stepped into them removing the scarf covering her chocolate colored hair as she finished.

"What…the…hell!?" I shrieked staring at the girls in awe. They had completely transformed right before my eyes and they weren't even done yet!

Mila shushed me as she strutted over to the building in front of us and peered into the glossy window looking at her reflection. First she took off her tiara and handed it to her sister, then she took her long curly hair from its ponytail allowing it to dance past her shoulders and down her back. She reached out her hand again and waited for Lila to pass her some bright red lipstick, then some black eyeliner, and she finished with thick strokes of mascara and then Lila dressed herself up too. _Now_ they were finished.

"You like?" asked Mila with a flirty wink. She giggled wildly and ran up to give me a hug.

"We are going to have the best time together girl!" she squealed squeezing me tight but I pulled away.

"No we're not! Your father is trusting me! I can't let you walk around like this, take it off right now!" I ordered.

But they just laughed at me and began walking away.

"Girls, seriously," I said running up beside them. Obviously Mila was the one in charge but Lila seemed like she'd be more levelheaded so I pleaded with her.

"Listen, you guys could get in serious trouble if you get caught and I could even lose my job. Think about that Lila."

"Then we won't get caught." said Mila cutting her eyes at me. She turned the corner and entered the building.

Inside was something I hadn't been expecting—a billiards lounge. Not one from the fancy movies where all the millionaires sit around smoking expensive cigars and chatting about all their money. No, this place was that grungy backwoods hangout for all the potheads and burnouts. It was terrible, really.

"Perfect!" sang Mila rushing over to the nearest table. She grabbed a stick and set the balls not hesitating to bend over the table and start off the game.

"Will you girls at least tell me what's going on?" I asked walking up to Mila; Lila was busy picking out her pool stick.

"Ok," said Mila sighing "my sister and I are twins from a wealthy family that we hate so whenever we get the chance to sneak away from that horrible life—we do. Simple as that."

"It sounds like you're leaving out _a lot_ of details." I mumbled.

Lila spoke up. "Mila is married to Noah and she hates him. So she rebels by doing this," her voice was soft and gentle and in just those few words it made me understand all the pain those girls were experiencing in an instant.

"That's why you kissed him before you left?" I asked touching Mila's shoulder. The question as to who exactly Noah was had crossed my mind earlier. I mean we were supposed to be working with a family. Ikki was the father, the twins were the daughters—but who was Noah? Mila's husband…at age sixteen and he was nearly thirty.

Mila nodded. "We got married three years ago when I was thirteen."

"Was it arranged?" I asked.

She snorted angrily. "Of course it was! No way was I going to marry that perverted bastard on my own accord!"

I looked over at Lila. "And how come you were dressed in rags earlier? I mean Mila wears whatever she wants right?"

There was a stiff pause before either girl volunteered to answer that one.

Mila spoke up first.

"Lila is my hand-maid. She follows me around wherever I go, she does as I say, she's basically my slave."

"But why?" I asked completely confused. "She's your sister, why don't you hire someone else to be your maid?"

Mila sighed while Lila answered this time. "I volunteered to be her hand-maid," she explained, "a hand-maid's duty is to follow her master, or mistress for the rest of her life."

"I'm missing the part where this makes sense." Maybe this was a weird Earth Kingdom thing?

Now Mila spoke up again. "Lila is in love with Noah, but I'm the oldest so I had to get married first. When Noah asked for a wife, my father gave him me."

"But since I'm the one who actually loves Noah," added Lila, "I volunteered to be Mila's hand-maid so that I could be with him forever too."

"That's sick," I said fiddling with a pool stick. Mila rolled her eyes and took a shot at the balls sending them rolling all over the place. But Lila only sighed and tried to make me understand.

"I love Noah, he's a nicer guy than everyone thinks and he's older but age is just a number!"

"That doesn't make this right," I said getting angry. "You reduced your sovereignty to a mere rag wearing slave for a man who could never truly be yours, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Mila sucked her teeth loudly but Lila exhaled a moment and replied in a surprisingly calm tone.

"It was either become a hand-maid or marry someone else, whom I could _never_ love. Living this way is better than the alternative because Noah isn't truly mine but then," she paused to look at her sister, "I'm not forced to be with someone that I hate."

I cut my eyes at Mila once her statement sank in. Mila was in the situation that Lila sold her freedom to get out of. She was married, _stuck_ with someone she hated, but worse than that; the person she hated secretly loved her twin sister. How twisted…..

I pensively pressed my lips together thinking about their statements. These girls needed this time away from home and I would feel like the devil if I took that away from them.

"Ok," I said exhaling hard. "I'll go along with this if you two promise me you won't go too far."

"How far is too far?" asked Mila smiling mischievously.

"You'll know when I tell you." I said ignoring her look.

Lila chimed in. "Can we go get drinks?"

"What!?" I snapped—too far already.

"No! You're both underage!"

Mila held out her hand to her sister again and seconds later two small cards were passed into her palm. "We have fake ID's, duh."

"That's not the point," I said, "I could seriously lose my job if my Boss finds out."

"But he _won't_ find out." said Lila anxiously.

"You don't understand—" I began but Mila cut in with much anger on her tongue.

"Oh c'mon! Have some fun will ya? Your Boss won't do anything if he doesn't know what happened. All you have to do is keep it a secret."

"We'll go by ourselves if that makes you feel better." offered Lila.

I sighed as I leaned against the billiards table and weighed my options. If it were me, stuck in an arranged marriage to a man I nearly hated, yeah, I'd want to sneak out and be rebellious too. But this wasn't fair, I couldn't compare myself to these girls—I have responsibilities. It's not just my obligation but my _job_ to keep these girls safe. Letting them go off on their own was not an option.

So I decided to go with them.

We left the billiards lounge in a hurry and I knew as soon as I stepped out of that dim, grungy building that I'd made the wrong choice. I was blatantly disobeying Boss's orders and I'm not sure if I even felt bad about it. I just thought, for a second, that I could identify with Mila and Lila. They were living in an environment that they hated, their lives were already laid out for them and there was no room for any compromise. My pity was leading them astray—well, they were already pretty messed up in the head but my decisions weren't helping much either.

"So you don't even know his real name?" asked Lila cracking open a peanut from the free bowl that'd been sitting in the middle of our table. We'd walked about five blocks and then did an eenie meenie miney moe to pick a bar. The one we landed on wasn't the best of bars in the Fire Nation but it was by far better than that billiards lounge. It was a rather small place with just one bar, about six tables and a single unisex bathroom inside. I guess from the oldies rock playing on the stereo and the thirty year old paneling on the walls that this was the kind of bar that middle aged folk frequented. I was a bit disturbed by that at first, I mean the only people in there besides the girls and I was a couple of forty year old men. But then I thought; this is great! The older the crowd the lesser chance of the girls sneaking off with some old perv—I think they have enough of that at home with Noah.

I nodded sheepishly in response to Lila's question then shrugged my shoulders. "But what's worse is that I don't really care that I don't know his name."

Lila's eyes grew large. "You don't care? But how can you work for someone who keeps so many secrets from you?"

"Because it's not my job to get all up in his business," I said playing with my shot of whiskey. "I get paid to answer phones and look pretty," then I mumbled, "though I've yet to have a day where I _simply_ answered phones."

Now Mila chimed in. "I think you should talk to this Jet guy, he seems nice."

"Sure," I snorted "when he was actually speaking to me. Now he can't even look my way."

"He's just embarrassed." assured Lila. "I'm sure he'll come around."

"I don't see why you rejected him anyway," added Mila, "Jet's adorable! And from what you've told me he's nicer than your boss and he's easier to get along with. Choose him!"

I held up my hands, palms open. "Wait, wait," I said "this isn't a matter of who I like best; I'm only _somewhat_ interested in Jet—and who said anything about my Boss?"

Tossing her head back, Mila let out that same girlish cackle from in the car except this time it had the amplifying of a drunken teenager behind it so it came bellowing out of her like a howling wolf.

"You two have chemistry," she reached forward and roughly grabbed my boobs giving them a good, hard squeeze, "and I bet if you work these ladies well you could get him to tell you _all_ his dirty little secrets!"

"Stop it!" I said swatting her hands away. She fell back in her chair and cackled loudly again, this time gaining the attention of the three men sitting just to the side of us.

"C'mon!" she said licking her lips drunkenly. "You don't swing that way? Or are you not in the mood for some action?"

I rolled my eyes. "You're drunk; I think it's time to go."

"No, I think I'm just getting started!" she shouted standing to her feet. Before I could protest Mila was atop the table swinging her shirt around letting her barely-blossoming boobs hang free. I covered my eyes for a second letting her have her freedom and fun then I had to take a stand.

"C'mon," I said reaching up and grabbing her arm. "It's time to get down." But she pulled away and kept dancing and hollering and then the whole bar was looking. Yep, all seven of us in there were staring at Mila.

"Mila!" I snapped grabbing her again but this time the sound of my cell phone ringing cut me off. I snatched it from my purse and read the name flashing on the screen.

Boss. And next to that were two missed calls from him.

"Crap," I whispered checking my watch. I was supposed to have called him twice by now.

"Lila," I said glancing up. She was sitting in her chair casually chatting with a man who'd come over while Mila was distracting me. She hadn't even noticed the fact that her twin sister was dancing half naked on top of the table, scratch that, her twin sister was now dancing half naked with a partner on top of the table. I guess this whole rebel act really was an everyday thing for them.

"Excuse me," I said marching over and pushing the guy aside. He stumbled back and called me a bitch under his breath but I ignored him and kept talking. "Lila, get your sister down, I need to make a call ok?"

She blinked up at me confused as to why I'd suddenly ruined her fun. "Lila please," I said feeling really desperate, "I helped you out now you have to help me. Just get her down and keep an eye on her until I get back."

Reluctantly, Lila nodded and I immediately dashed off to go call Boss back.

He answered midway through the first ring and I knew I was in big trouble.

"What the hell are you doing?" he snapped, his voice was low and full of anger.

"I'm sorry," I said trying to think of a legit excuse. "I was uh, um—"

"You were supposed to call me every hour, what happened?"

"I'm sorry, the girls and I lost track of time. It won't happen again ok?"

"Where are you?" he asked. "I'm gonna come pick you up now."

"What!?" Why?" I said, my voice cracking from shock.

"Mr. Keyon got called away for another meeting so I'm finished for the day. He says the girls can come home early."

"But—no—I mean, he can't do that," I was breaking down now; I couldn't believe this was happening. Both of the girls had had one drink too many and one of them was dancing naked on a table. I could _not_ let Boss see them this way. I wouldn't get fired—I'd be goddamned executed.

"Katara," said Boss "you're not making any sense, where are you?"

"You can't get us now, our—uh—our movie is just about to start."

"What?"

"We're heading into a movie, please just let us finish the film then you can come get us."

He sighed loudly on the other end before letting me win. "Fine, but call me as _soon_ as it's over."

"Ok, thanks" I said hanging up before he had time to change his mind." Now all I had to do was round up the girls, get them sober and act like I wasn't about to lose my job. This was _not_ going as planned.

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**Sorry for cutting it off so abruptly. The next chapter should be up soon though so no worries right? Thanks for reading and don't forget to review! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Just a heads-up this chapter is kind of short but I think you'll like it, at least I hope you do. Anyhoo here's the update—enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own any of the characters or plotline of Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

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Chapter Six

I dashed back into the bar scanning the room for the girls and found only Lila still chatting with that same guy from before. There was no Mila, no wild shouting, and no flailing boobs—thank God.

"What the hell?" I whispered rushing over to Lila. "Where's your sister?"

She pulled away from her boy toy and faced me. "She's in the back."

I glanced over my shoulder. "The back—what? Why the fuck is she in the back? Lila I told you to keep an eye on her."

"I did," she said giggling as the man standing behind began to trail pecks of sweet kisses along her neck. She pulled away again and playfully swatted at him only to have him catch her hand and pull her in for a full kiss.

"Hell—_fucking_—lo? I'm standing right here people!" I shouted.

Both of them jumped in surprise and the man grew angry. "What the fuck is your problem bitch?" he snapped bellicosely. Keeping in mind that I was about to lose my job I initially marshaled my temper but the look on his face—like he'd just won our nonexistent argument pissed me off all over again and suddenly I was aggressive and ready to fight.

"What the fuck is _your_ problem, you twisted prick?" I retorted. "Do you even know how old she is?"

At this, the man stepped back and looked at Lila from head to toe. "You said you were twenty."

Lila snorted. "And you said you were under forty."—ok this guy had a full beard, crow's feet, and a big gray spot on the side of his head _clearly_ he was a good fifty two—what's up with these girls and older men? And really?—what happened to; "I love Noah! Blah blah fucking blah!" Mila is wild and rebellious but at least she's easy to read, Lila sends all these crazy mixed signals and it pisses me off because I never know what she's going to do next.

"Ok," I said grabbing Lila's backpack, then her hand and pulling her away, "we need to go find your sister, like _now_."

"But why? What's the rush?" she asked trotting down the hall beside me.

"My boss called me; he wants to come pick us up—now."

"_Now_?" she gasped.

"Yes, but I stalled him, he thinks we're at a movie which means we have less than two hours to get you guys looking sober and presentable—which probably isn't possible right now."

"Oh God," Lila cried beginning to sob. She stopped walking forcing me to stumble and stagger down the hallway while dragging her along.

"We're gonna get caught, and we're gonna get in so much trouble!"

"No, you're not." I said angrily, I couldn't believe how quickly she'd given up!

"We're gonna find Mila and get you girls to the theater and then we'll work everything out. Ok?" I said trying to sound confident.

Lila sucked up her tears and nodded quietly.

It wasn't much longer after that that we located Mila. A few more steps down the hall and loud shrieks of sexual pleasure could be heard bouncing off the walls. I grabbed the handle of each door I passed trying to find the right room but each one was locked forcing me to move on. Finally I came to one that was cracked open just a bit and without hesitation I kicked it open and stormed inside.

There, bent over a small round table was Mila. She had her skirt pulled up over her hips and her strapless shirt had been tossed to the side on the floor. With the exception of the garment covering her mid-section she was completely naked. Behind her was a pale skinned man somewhere around forty-five. He was somewhat tall and had his long trousers yanked down to his ankles revealing his white, fleshy ass from below his crisp button down.

The two of them didn't even bother to stop when I barged inside. In fact, they barely noticed. They just kept banging away on the table like nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Get off!" I shouted stomping over to the two in ferocity. I grabbed the man by the shoulders and, surprising myself with my strength, I literally threw him across the room. He went tumbling into some stacked boxes of liquor—raging boner and all—and knocked them over spilling the alcohol all over the place.

"Hey! What's going on back there!?" shouted someone from the front of the bar—most likely the owner.

Now my heart was racing even faster and I swear I was close to passing out. "Mila, c'mon," I said pulling her off of the table but she just pushed me away and doubled over to vomit.

Grabbing her by the arms, I lifted one over my shoulders and began pulling her away. "Lila, help me." I ordered and right away Lila was at her sister's other side helping me drag her out of the room.

We made it halfway down the hall before I felt someone grabbing me by Lila's backpack and tugging me back from behind.

"Ahh!" I screamed dropping Mila and tripping backward. The twins fell to the ground in a drunken mess while I staggered back kicking and punching at whoever was attacking me.

"You fucking bitch!" shouted the man holding my bag. "You just ruined eight crates of beer!"

_I did what?_ I thought thrusting my fist hard into the air. I landed a hit right on the guy's nose and sent him reeling back into the cases of liquor that were stacked in the hall—now I'd ruined about twelve crates of beer.

Crawling on my hands and knees I made it back to the girls and tried to get them up but it was no use. Lila was crying in the corner, Mila was neared passed out naked on the floor and the man who'd just attacked me was pouncing on my back again. He punched me and clawed at me as we tussled in the hall. He was definitely getting the better of me, landing cracks on my ribs, constantly kicking me in the side, but this wasn't a very fair fight since he'd jumped on me from behind—again.

And just when I thought all was lost and nothing could possibly get any worse I felt coolness on the floor beneath my fingers. It was wet but not water, still, that didn't stop me. I acted on impulse really—I'm not even sure what I did exactly but I knew I had to do something or I probably wouldn't walk out of that bar as healthy as I'd walked in.

Before my brain could comprehend what I was doing I'd bended the alcohol that'd spilled from the broken cases into a giant wave and blasted the man attacking me sending him flying down the hall back into the front of the bar. I didn't want to hurt him but I had no other choice.

When I turned around to face the girls there was no more crying, no cowering in the corner and no panicked shrieks. They were both sitting bug-eyed and shocked holding onto each other wondering what the hell I'd just done. Even Mila, who was previously on the brink of an alcoholic death, was wide awake and mumbling; "What the fuck?" as she watched me approach them. Then it all hit me, I'd just used bending—in public—in the _Fire_ _Nation_. But there was no time to worry about that. I had to get the girls out of there before anymore trouble could brew up and the fact that I could hear police sirens in the distance only made things worse.

"Get up," I ordered grabbing Mila by the arm. She followed without a word and covered herself with her hands. I would've let her get dressed right there but men from the front of the bar were beginning to wander around the corner and make a scene. The first man started shouting about there being beer all over the place then the second, who wasn't as drunk as the first, saw me and the girls, put two and two together and shouted; "They're robbing the place!"

That's when the girls lost their cool and started panicking all over again.

"What are we going to do!?" shouted Lila bursting into tears again. Mila followed as she dropped to her knees and began to sob as well but I wasn't having it, not again.

I grabbed Mila by the arm and yanked her up to her feet then I flat out bitch slapped Lila and seethed; "Get it together! We're getting out of this ok!?"

They nodded and sucked up their tears.

"Here," I said handing Mila one of the long dresses from her backpack. "Put this on and let's go before anyone else notices us."

We left the bar through the back just in time. The police were screeching to a halt right outside the front as we nonchalantly walked away. No one followed us, no one called after us and no one noticed that we were gone—except maybe the two drunks that'd caught us in the hall. Once we'd rounded two corners and I decided that we were safely away from the bar I stopped walking and let the girls rest in a small alley.

"Put your regular clothes back on," I ordered sternly. "Wipe off all of your makeup and do it quickly."

Lila moved right away but Mila just sat on the ground, arms folded and lips pressed together.

"Mila," I said, "didn't you hear me?"

She nodded. "I did, but I don't have to listen to you."

"Are you serious?" Now I was pissed off. She seriously didn't know how close I was to bitch slapping the spit from her perverse little mouth.

"I'm not moving until you explain what happened in there." Mila huffed looking me dead in the eye. I knew she was serious so I didn't even try to fight her. I think they at least deserved an explanation to that.

"I'm a water bender," I confessed. Lila gasped like she didn't just witness me bending but Mila just rolled her eyes.

"That's crazy, benders don't exist anymore." she said standing up.

"Yes they do, I'm one of them." I insisted.

"Benders died out decades ago," said Mila ignoring my argument. She dug out her original outfit and began dressing herself.

"My father says they're all gone. My mother doesn't even think they _ever_ existed."

"Well they did," I snapped getting angry, "I _am_ a bender and there are more people like me. Benders can't just die off, they're born every day."

Mila exhaled hard. "Whatever," she said, "let's just go home now."

"I'll call our chauffer," said Lila chiming in. She'd already changed back into her rags and was rummaging through her backpack for her cell phone. I couldn't believe how nonchalant they were acting, we were almost beaten up not even thirty minutes ago and here they were pretending that nothing had ever happened. I was really starting to believe that this whole rebellious act was an everyday thing for them now. Especially for Mila.

"What will you tell your father?" I asked scanning the girls over. They didn't exactly look like they'd only gone to the mall. Mila's hair was a mess and she was clearly exhausted from all the crying, the sex, the alcohol, and then walking three blocks barefoot and basically naked. She looked like she needed a shower. Lila was no different; she wasn't as drunken as her sister was but she'd shed her fair share of tears. Her face was all puffy and her nose was a bright red—well as red as her brown skin allowed.

"What do you mean?" asked Lila finally locating her cell phone. She tucked it into a pocket on her long dress then went back to digging into her bag.

"I mean, you're both still a little tipsy, how are you going to explain that to him? And you both look terrible. I doubt he'll believe we just went to the mall and the movies."

Mila answered. "We'll tell him we got sick."

"Food poisoning." Lila added happily. She pulled out her sister's tiara and passed that to her then began wiping off her remaining makeup.

I somehow doubted that explanation would fly well but I didn't protest. They seemed to be experts in getting away with crazy shit like this so I just nodded my head and changed the subject.

"We need to go, like _now_. My boss is expecting us to be outside the movie theater in an hour."

"I don't think we'll make it." said Lila beginning to worry.

I was about to calm her down but Mila interrupted. "I don't think so either," she said walking away from us, "let's just go back to the hotel—I'm tired and we're probably busted."

"What are you talking about?" I asked following her down the alley. "We still have a chance," She kept walking ahead of me completely silent without even looking back at me.

"Hey!" I shouted feeling more pissed than ever. "This was your idea in the first place, are you even listening to me?"

I was about this close to flat out tackling her bitchy ass but once we'd cleared the alley and had reached the street my anger vanished and suddenly I was filled with fear.

Boss.

He was sitting casually on the hood of his black car with an expression on his face that was somewhere between pissed off and murderous—maybe both.

"B—Boss," I began to stutter but he raised his hand and instantly I was silenced.

"Don't," he said shaking his head, "just get in the car."

All three of us followed orders in fearful silence. Even Mila remained quiet during the ride back to the hotel. I thought, throughout the entire ride, that I was done for. Boss wasn't speaking to me at all. Instead he just drove in simmering silence making the air stuffier than it already was. I felt like I was choking to death by the time we picked a parking space in the hotel garage.

Boss slowly turned off the car and shifted in his seat to face us once we were safely parked inside.

"Go to the nearest bathroom," he said, "fix yourselves up and be ready to go see your father in fifteen minutes."

"Ok," replied the girls in unison. They quickly exited the vehicle with me trying to follow behind but Boss called me back in a horrifyingly livid tone.

"Katara!" he snapped nearly stopping my heart. I bit my lip hard and didn't face him when I answered.

"Yes?"

"You stay," he demanded, "I want to speak with you."

I prayed for my safety as I flopped back into the car and gruffly shut my door.

"What the hell were you doing?" asked Boss getting right down to business.

I exhaled a moment trying to figure out how I would explain all this. So far I'd encouraged underage drinking, allowed minors to have sex with strangers, started a bar fight, and used bending in public. That's what the hell I was doing.

"I don't know," I said staring out the window.

"You could have gotten those girls seriously hurt," he snapped, "you could have gotten yourself seriously hurt Katara. What's wrong with you?"

"I don't know!" I cried facing him in my seat. I was surprised by what I saw when I turned to see him. Instead of an angry monster, I was faced with a softer, more concerned man than before. His face was drenched with worry as if he actually cared about me possibly getting injured and suddenly I felt terrible inside. Boss wasn't the easiest man to get along with but even I can tell, from spending so much time with him, he cares about all of his employees—including me. And I'm probably the one who deserves his concern the least. All I've really done since I was hired was make things more difficult for Boss. Maybe he should have fired me like he'd first intended to.

"How did you find me?" I mumbled looking away trying to change the subject.

Frustrated, he exhaled hard before answering. "I put a tracking device in the cell phone I gave you. I knew you weren't at the theater when we spoke on the phone."

"How come you didn't say anything then?"

Another sigh escaped him. "Because I wanted you to do the right thing Katara, I wanted you to make the right decisions."

"Well, you didn't get what you wanted." I mumbled.

"Katara," said Boss. His surprisingly calm voice brought my eyes up to meet his.

"What happened?"

"We went to a bar, and then we got into a fight." I confessed.

"A what?" he gasped, then quickly changing the subject he asked—"Are you injured?"

I shook my head. "I think I'm fine"

"Have you checked yet?" he asked scanning me over.

I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable that his attentive eyes were roving over me.

"Boss I'm fine," I said a bit nervously but he ignored my statement and said;

"Get out." as he opened his door and walked around to my side of the car.

"What's wrong?" I asked stepping out of the vehicle.

"Just stand still," he instructed ducking down. He patted my ankles and worked his way up to my knees, my thighs and then he went higher making me more and more nervous by the second.

"What are you doing?" I whispered when he stood and faced me. But instead of answering the question, he gave me another order.

"Hold your arms out." he instructed.

"My arms?"

"Just do it." he said rolling his eyes.

I held them out at little bit away from my sides and waited for whatever Boss was going to do next. He stepped closer to me looking right into my eyes and I reflexively sucked in air out of surprise but I didn't look away. His face was stone cold from a distance but up close it didn't take a magnifying glass to tell that behind his hard, usually expressionless face was a soft layer of concern. I wasn't surprised by this at all; nearly every emotion that crawled across his face was distorted by that gruesome scar. It made everything about him seem more rugged and dangerous than he really was.

Suddenly I was staring at his scar and not his face anymore and his eyes flicked away. Just for a fraction of a second, he glanced away breaking eye contact with me and I hated myself for it. How could I have been so rude? Staring right at his scar—right in front of him? Even though I felt bad, something inside me began to smile because for the first time ever I'd seen a side of Boss that I didn't even know existed. I'd seen him become self-conscious. Only for a half of a second but it was enough for me. All of sudden Boss seemed human…and I think I liked it.

Now his eyes met mine and they were back to that emptiness from before. No longer gentle, or filled with concern. I'd made him upset—I could tell that clearly. His hands met my hips and caressed themselves upwards sending tiny sparks of emotion running up my spine. I got that comforting from before, when I'd inhaled his scent and immediately I was ashamed of myself. Boss is my _boss_ and nothing else. I'm not allowed to be attracted to him, besides it'd be downright dirty if were. Imagine how much more tainted my reputation would be if people found out the young assistant was banging the Boss—still I couldn't stop the warm sensation that filled me when his hands went up higher.

They traced a line from my hips to my waist and when he slid them under my shirt I suddenly thought I was going to faint—then I felt a sharp pain on my side and exclaimed; "Ouch!" as I pulled away and brought my hand to the pained area.

Boss smirked. "You are hurt," he said stepping closer to me again. His hands went up my shirt again, this time he slid them high up close to my ribcage where the pain was the most excruciating.

"Do you feel that?" he asked probing his fingers on my flesh.

I winced a bit and nodded. "It hurts."

"Always check for injuries after a fight." he said sternly, then pulling away he added; "It feels like it's just a bruise, nothing serious."

"I'll be fine." I said confidently. These were my battle scars, I wanted to wear them proudly to show Boss how tough I was. Unfortunately he wasn't impressed and said in return;

"Call Jet and have him pick you up, you should get back to the office to have your injuries treated."

"What?" I snapped completely surprised. "Why?—I'm fine."

He shook his head. "No you're not, go home, get patched up and take it easy. I'll handle the girls from here."

I wanted to protest again, the girls were my responsibility not his. On top of that I would have rather taken the bus home than rode with Jet. We weren't exactly bff's at the moment. But orders were orders and with the deep shit I was in I thought it'd be wise not to push Boss's buttons today.

"Fine," I huffed turning to grab my purse from the car.

Boss smiled and turned to leave giving me just a few last words. "Good," he said, "and try not to screw this up."

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**Hope you enjoyed the update. I'll try to post another chapter soon, don't forget to review please! God bless.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks for all of the positive reviews; those are what keep me coming back to the keyboard every time I have a moment to spare. This chapter is pretty short but it would have been ages long if I didn't chop it up. Anyways, here's the update—please enjoy and God bless. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own any of the characters or plotline of Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

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Chapter Seven

Jet pulled into the parking lot in one of Boss's shining black cars in a matter of minutes. I had wondered why he hadn't assisted Boss in apprehending me in the first place but he filled me in as soon as he stepped out of the vehicle.

"Sorry," he said walking around to open my door, "I was with a separate client when I got your call. Boss texted me though, let me know what happened, so I finished up earlier than planned."

I thought to say something in response but nothing came to mind and Jet kept talking anyway so I hadn't the chance to speak. He didn't let up during the entire trip back to the office filling me in on what'd happened with Ikki and Noah and the other client he was with—apparently a Fire Nation native looking for a lawyer well educated in Earth Kingdom laws. I wasn't exactly bubbling with excitement to hear all of this dull information but listening to Jet drone on about work was far better than confronting the awkward emotional ride we'd been taking lately.

Finally we reached the office and he picked a parking space quickly shutting off the car. We sat in silence for a few awkward moments, him staring forward, me glued to the window. Suddenly I wished he would start blabbing about work again.

"Katara," he said shattering the lingering silence.

I sighed but faced him, forcing a smile onto my face. The expression he wore was glum and sad; I could tell right away this wasn't going to be a conversation that I wanted to have.

"Jet," I said trying to beat him to the punch but he cut me off in a shockingly disheartened tone.

"Katara," he said again this time exhaling slowly.

I bit the inside of my cheek instantly feeling awkward. This was a side of Jet I hadn't seen before. He was usually quiet and demure, not the type to express strong emotions in front of others. But now he was so gloomy I swear he was on the verge of tears. Did this date mean _that_ much to him?

"Just tell me the truth," he said not looking me in the eye anymore.

I swallowed hard nearly cracking my drying throat. "Yes?"

"Tell me this isn't because of Boss."

_Because of Boss?_ I thought bunching up my eyebrows, what did _he_ have to do with anything?

"What do you mean because of Boss?" I asked quietly, my voice was nearly a whisper. I was afraid speaking too loudly would earn me another sudden jolt of emotions from Jet and I really wasn't ready for that. First it was gloom and doom, next it may be a full on temper tantrum, stomping his feet and all.

Jet exhaled hard like he was about to tell me something he didn't want to say. I'm the nosey type, usually hearing secrets gets me going but if it came in exchange of temper tantrums or sob-fests while locked in a car with Jet then I'd rather he just keep that tidbit of information to himself.

"I can tell by the way he looks at you—" he cut himself off and just stared forward past the windshield, past the rows of black cars ahead of us and into the distance like he was reminiscing to himself.

"Do you—" another pause and more creepy staring.

I cleared my throat unsure if I should interrupt this _very_ weird moment.

"Do you have … _feelings_ for Boss?" he finally said.

It took me a moment to comprehend what Jet had asked and then what he'd actually meant. Feelings for Boss?—_our_ Boss? Wasn't he present for most of our encounters? Boss and I almost never got along, I'd say the man hated me but the fact that he hasn't fired me yet made me wonder. Still, I couldn't say I had feelings for the guy. I mean sure, he was hot, he was damn fine but I'm pretty sure there wasn't an emotional connection between the two of us. There were times when I thought I was attracted to him but only in that I-want-to-bang-you sort of way, it wasn't an attraction where I wanted a longstanding relationship. Besides, Boss was pretty much an unemotional monster at work, I could never love someone like him. And as soon as I did catch myself developing any sort of desire for him I quickly stomped it out of existence—liking my boss was inappropriate.

I turned to Jet to find him staring at me wide eyed, waiting for an answer.

"No." I answered flatly. Or at least I thought I'd answered flatly, he only pressed his lips together in response. I'm not sure how I should have interpreted that but it made me uncomfortable. _Great_, I thought suppressing the urge to roll my eyes, now I have to prove to him that I'm not attracted to my boss.

"Everyone in the office seems to think you're his woman." said Jet after a long pause.

I'm not sure how surprised I was by this but I know it pissed me off. This is what happens when you're one of about ten females working for an entire enterprise. Every guy in the building thinks you're banging your boss.

"Why would they think that?" I snapped. Seriously, I may be one of a few females in the office and the best looking at that, but I'm quite sure my interactions with Boss never gave any hints at us having a secret romantic affair after hours.

"Because of the way Boss treats you," Jet answered.

"Remind me again how he treats me?" I said, because if you asked me I'd say he was pretty much an asshole toward me. He was always grunting and growling out orders, always telling me what I did wrong and he never complimented me.

"Well," said Jet, "he hasn't fired you yet. After everything you've done—if it'd been anyone else he would have tossed them out right away."

This really got me going, because I know I'm not employee of the month but really?—I haven't done _that_ much shit around the office. Everyone's acting like I'm the reason for every mishap in the franchise. Next they'll be blaming me for any drops in the stocks!

"Maybe he's just merciful." I said choosing not to start an argument with him. Obviously Jet was wrong about my relationship with Boss but I could tell by his tone of voice that nothing I said would convince him I wasn't sleeping with the man. I wonder what people would think if Boss was _actually_ nice to me? I suppose then they'd be expecting a baby soon. If not firing me meant that we were banging each other then the guys at the office must think I'm one amazing fuck. No wonder they're always hitting on me—the old pervs just want to get laid.

"How about we go inside now?—I need to patch myself up." I said cutting Jet off. He was still going through his list of reasons why he thinks I'm banging the Boss-man.

His eyes flattened and he pressed his lips together again but said nothing in response, just got out of the car and then walked around to help me out.

We hiked up the few flights of stairs from the garage to the main office and made our way to the elevator. Our floor was higher up, working in Boss's office meant we were headed to the very top of the building in one long, silent blob of awkwardness. I was now officially convinced that Jet and I would never have that fun, loving friendship from before.

"I'll ring the doctor," Jet said once we'd entered my office. I nodded in response resting my purse on my desk and kicking off my shoes. I'd spent nearly all day trekking around the town in heels, I needed a break. A nice glass of wine would have been perfect at the moment but Boss forbids drinking on the job, technically I wasn't on the job anymore but I was already in deep shit so I settled with the water Jet brought me once he'd returned.

"What do you think he'll do to me?" I asked sipping my water.

"He _won't_ fire you," Jet mumbled cramming his hands into his pockets.

I cut my eyes at him. Was he serious?—because that was a _really_ low blow. Thank God the doctor arrived the next moment giving me something else to focus on instead of Jet and his growing jealous suspicions. I really couldn't believe him, rejecting his date offer automatically meant that I was banging our boss? In what world is that a logical explanation? God forbid I'm just not attracted to the guy—nope that was _never_ an option here.

The doctor was an average guy in his late fifties with dark brown hair, lazy eyes, and a rather expressionless face. But not the kind of expressionless you get from Boss, this guy had about as much life in him as a dead fish.

He grunted hello to the both of as he put down his big bag o' tools and then silently examined me from head to toe. I stood leaning against my desk wondering how the hell he was going to determine my injuries when he didn't even know what was wrong with me but then I noticed he wasn't scanning me over anymore, just staring at my boobs.

"So," I said in a strident tone, "how about those bandages?"

The doctor jumped to life—in that dead fish sort of way, and said flatly; "Take your shirt off."

Lucky for him my bruising was actually under my shirt so I didn't protest his orders. I did, however, give the perv my meanest of faces as I unbuttoned my top. Then I caught Jet staring at me too and I realized just how inappropriate this was.

"Do you mind?" I said a tad more angrily than I'd meant to. He only blushed in response and scurried away saying that he'd be back in twenty minutes.

"I'm Doctor Cain," said the dead fish—to my boobs.

I rolled my eyes and said; "I'm Katara, it's just some bruising so you don't have to be here long."

He licked his lips in that dirty doctor sort of way and stepped closer to me. "Do you have bruising anywhere else?"

"No," I said tersely, "and I checked already so you can take my word for it."

Now he harrumphed and turned to his doctor bag digging in it to retrieve some cream and ace bandages. "I'm going to apply this to your bruising, then the bandages to cover it." he said holding up the cream but I protested.

"I can do that," I insisted, "it's just cream right?"

He narrowed his eyes. "I'm the doctor; I know how much you're going to need."

"Seriously, it's just Neosporin a little more than usual won't kill me. I can do it." I said.

He looked at me indignantly, like putting on cream was some deep, perplexing task. "I'm pretty sure it'd be safer if I did this."

_Alright_, I thought, _this guy's not changing his mind_. "Never mind," I said grabbing my purse. I reached down and snatched up my shoes too before turning to leave with the doctor protesting behind me. I didn't listen to him, it was obvious he only wanted to get his old fish hands on my body and, even though my skin burned like hell, I just didn't want him touching me. Wasn't there any guy in this office who could treat me professionally?

"Come back!" called the doctor loudly but I ignored him and broke into a light jog desperate to get away from him and all of his perverse intentions. Just as I'd reached the exit though I ran smack into someone and fell back crashing my ass right onto the floor.

"Dammit!" I snapped dropping my shoes and purse. I looked up at the man and yelled; "What the hell is your problem?" as I grabbed my stuff in a hurry and rushed out. I jogged all the way down the hall to the elevators and thanked God when one dinged open, unfortunately for me, Boss was stepping off of it just as I was boarding.

"Katara?" he said staring at me in bewilderment. He blushed a light red as he took in my appearance. I was standing, shirt unbuttoned, shoes off and hair astray. I guess I would surprise anyone getting off the elevator.

I covered myself up right away instantly becoming embarrassed of my lacy black push-up bra. "I'm sorry!" I exclaimed turning to run away.

He started shouting something about what the hell I was doing but just as he began his rampage the elevator doors closed on him allowing me to escape.

I don't know why I thought I'd seen the last of Boss, he lives in the same house with me but for some reason I felt better the second I crossed the threshold to our modest little home. I'd planned on taking a short, careful, shower then tending to my wounds and then maybe fixing something to eat but I'd only made it to my bedroom before I heard loud, restive knocks on my door. I ignored them at first knowing exactly who they belonged to. After all, Boss was the only other person in the world with a key to the house. Who else could it be?

Then the knocks grew more aggressive and soon they were bangs and by the time I was wrapped up in a bath towel the angry man just came crashing in without any regard to my doorknob and lock—seriously he practically ripped them off the door.

"What the hell are you doing?" seethed Boss standing in my doorway.

I rolled my eyes and gestured to my towel. "Going to take a shower."

"I mean at the elevator, why were you running around half-naked?—and why didn't you answer the door?"

"Because that doctor creeped me out and because I don't have to open my door just because you're knocking."

He screwed up his face at me completely surprised by my answer. Ok, maybe I was being a tad bit disrespectful but I'm not going to kiss his ass just because he pays my bills. I didn't ask him to move me into his house. To my surprise, however, he didn't lash out at me, or yell, or get angry. He simply slumped his shoulders and exhaled pinching the bridge of his nose in agitation.

"Why do I have so many problems with of you?" he mumbled still pinching his nose. His eyes were closed, his chest was moving up and down rather rapidly—I guess he took the stairs bounding after me in anger—and his free hand was resting on his hip; a clear depiction of frustration.

"Why do I have so many problems with my associates?" I mumbled back.

"What happened with the doctor?"

"He was a pervy old bastard." I spat instantly breaking into anger. I was tired of being visually undressed and raped by every guy in the office. Seriously, Boss needs to hire more girls so these men won't act like dogs as soon as a decent one comes strolling inside.

Boss sighed. "So you didn't get treated?"

I shook my head and he tapped his chin pondering on what he should do next.

"Come here," he ordered stepping closer to me. He walked, carefully, around my bed to where I was standing and looked at me again in the same way from before when he'd patted me down in the parking lot. I almost fell into the same trance, staring up at his mystifyingly bright eyes but then I heard Jet's voice in the back of my mind telling me that everyone thought I was Boss's squeeze and this was why. Here I was in a bathrobe, in my bedroom with my boss. I somehow doubted he did this with Jet very often.

"What are you doing?" I snapped becoming defensive.

Boss stepped back looking puzzled. "I'm going to treat you, let me see your bruising." He moved to grab my robe but I turned away dashing across my bed to get to the other side of my room. I'm pretty sure I flashed him my ass as I did a ninja style roll over the bed but I didn't care. My only concern was making people forget the idea that I was sleeping with my boss—no matter how tempting that sounded.

"I'm fine," I said in my most convincing of tones. "I'll patch myself up, ok?"

"Katara," Boss said suppressing a low chuckle, "I can do it; I've patched up other employees before it's not that difficult."

I thought to ask why the hell he would need to patch up other employees but instead I said; "Since it's not that difficult then I'll do it myself."

"Katara—,"

"I said I'll do it myself!" I snapped and that got my point across. Boss bristled in shock at first, confusion spreading across his face but then he simply turned and headed to my door in silent puzzlement only stopping to face me with an indescribable expression on his face and say;

"Ok Katara, I'll be in your office to debrief you about the assignment later. Just come when you're ready."

I nodded in response hating myself as I caught the look in his eyes. It was so sincere, so genuine, so ... hurt. As if not being able to care for me truly pained him inside. Now I was questioning how hard it was to love a monster because right now Boss seemed more human than ever.

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**Sorry this chapter was so short. I'm planning on updating more regularly since I'm off for break; I hope that makes up for it. You can expect the next chapter pretty soon. Anyways, thanks for reading and God bless! Don't forget to review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for the reviews! I smiled a bundle while I read them, they were so encouraging. Thanks to Mobster Eye for finally checking out my fic (took you long enough!) **

**And to everyone else, please please please enjoy and God bless.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own any of the characters or plotline of Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

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Chapter Eight

The shower I took was so soothing that I nearly fell asleep standing up. I took extra caution of my bruising; it hurt like hell even when the cool water touched it. But it was worse when I went to get dressed. I chose to dress extremely casual in some sweats and a baggy shirt. I didn't want any tight clothes to rub against my wounds—which I hadn't yet tended to. I'd told Boss that I would but after my shower they were basically raw and swollen, I didn't dare touch them. Plus I didn't have anything to treat them with.

Jet and Boss were waiting in the office when I arrived. Jet was sitting on my desk flipping through a manila folder with Boss standing over his shoulder looking as concentrated as ever—back to monster mode. I should have known they wouldn't take a break. I'd been gone for well over an hour and here they were still busy with paperwork. It made me feel a little lazy but Boss had told me to come when I was ready so I took full advantage of his rare offer.

Jet saw me first, he cracked half a smile and shifted his position to stand up shaking Boss's attention from the folder to me. He too gave me that half smile and a courtesy nod as he moved around the desk to stand between the two of us.

"Ok," Boss said placing his hands on hips. "Today was a success, we had a minor setback," he glanced over at me, "but things were back on track rather quickly once I intervened. Our clients told me, despite our rather," another glance at me, "_unique_ experience, that they still want to conduct business with us. Tomorrow is their last day in town so let's make it count, Katara."

"Yes?" I said surprised that he was addressing me.

"The girls will be staying in their apartment tomorrow so you won't have to put together another schedule for them, understood?"

"I'm still on the job?" I said, confused.

Boss rolled his eyes. "Yes, you are."

"So you're not going to fire me?"

Another eye roll. "No, I'm not,"

I was excited enough to do a celebratory dance right there in the office but Jet's subtle eye roll caught my attention and ruined the moment for me. He was right; Boss _wasn't_ going to fire me just like he'd said. But that doesn't make him right about me having feelings for him. He's my boss for Pete's sake!

"But," said Boss sounding like he was going to drop a bomb. "I'm not keeping you here because you're irreplaceable Katara, you're here because the girls insisted that they would take their business elsewhere if you didn't remain as their escort for the remainder of their stay here in the Fire Nation."

My eyes nearly popped from their sockets. "Seriously!?" I blurted, _completely_ shocked. Why would they want me back? I hadn't done anything except ruin their fun and then get into a bar fight. It was hardly the experience I wanted to relive with them but they're the only thing keeping me hired so I guess I should just be quiet and be thankful.

"I mean, uh, cool." I said trying and failing to compose myself. I caught Jet rolling his eyes again and this time, instead of ignoring him, I rolled mine right back as soon as he made eye contact with me—because I'm _so_ mature like that.

"Anyway," Boss said getting back on track. "We'll meet them tomorrow at seven in the morning so be here by six, everyone clear?"

"How long will we be out tomorrow?" I asked.

"Late," Boss answered, "we didn't get through half of our schedule today because Mr. Keyon got a call and had to leave. So tomorrow we'll be making up for that time loss as well as scouring the city for other locations. I really can't say."

I poked out my bottom lip fake pouting and sighed loudly. "I'm gonna be at work for so loooooong." I whined but Boss shot me a glare and I straightened up.

"Try to behave tomorrow, will you?" Boss said, but it sounded more like a command than a suggestion and a nervous chill shot up my spine in response.

"Of course!" I chirped trying to sound like I meant it, then I mumbled; "If those demons behave too."

Boss turned to Jet. "You'll have to leave around noon tomorrow to meet with your other clients."

Jet nodded.

"Make sure you express my gratitude for their business as well as my apologies for not meeting with them in person."

Jet nodded again this time shifting through his folder to write something down as he did so.

"Alright," said Boss walking away, Jet and I followed close behind. "We're done for today, you two can go home."

Excited, I headed right out for the elevators but stopped in my tracks when I got there. They were all down, just as you turn the corner you're greeted by the most wonderful sign that read; _**Down for construction**_. Then it had an arrow pointing to the "alternative routes" AKA the stairs. Being on the highest floor in the building you could see why I was especially upset by this. I'd have to take the stairs _all_ the way down!

"Down for construction!?" I shrieked completely upset. "But why? I just used these to get up here!"

Boss sighed. "It's my fault," he said keeping a straight face.

"Why?—how?" I whined.

"I'm having updated elevators installed; I want the doors to stay open longer so no one will be cut off mid-conversation." He shot me a look that had murder written all over it and I knew instantly what he was referring to.

"That can be a bummer can't it?" I retorted in my most innocent of tones and he glared at me even worse than before in that bloodthirsty revenge sort of way. Seriously, I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd have beaten me to death with his shoe or something, but I also didn't care. If he was going to be an ass about the half-naked incident then I was going to be a full on bitch.

Really? Replacing all of the elevators in the _entire_ building over that? This guy has control issues and too much money on his hands. What did he want me to do? Stand there and explain my mortifying experience with that perverted doctor while my girls were handing out for the world to see?—I don't think so.

"C'mon," said Boss patting my shoulder, "let's just take the stairs."

"_Let's_?" I asked. I knew where I was going, and Jet was probably heading to the garage to go home too, but where the hell was Boss going?

"Yes," answered Boss, "_Let's_, as in _all_ of us."

"Where are _you_ going?" I asked.

Boss sighed getting frustrated with my questions.

"I'm going home Katara, with you. I'm tired, like you, and I want to have a nice meal and go to sleep, like you. Any other questions?"

"Why now?" I snapped. "You've hardly come home before."

Another exasperated sigh. "Because I was dealing with more clients up until now but Jet's handling more than one case so I can focus on the Keyon's while he handles business for me, which means I can be home more often." He stopped to stretch holding his strong arms over his head; he looked more tired than he ever has. "And now I can actually get a decent amount of sleep, Lord knows I need it."

I crossed my arms. I know I've complained about being alone in the house before but I was just starting to get used to the idea of possibly having it all to myself—for the most part at least. I'm just not sure how I'm supposed to handle being around Boss 24/7. We're not exactly fond of each other at work, maybe home will be different?

"Anymore questions?" Boss asked heading towards the stairs.

I grunted in response and trudged down each flight in silence. I didn't even say goodbye to Jet when he made his exit taking a different stairwell to the garage. Boss said bye and gave some more terse instructions for tomorrow but I kept walking leaving him behind only stopping once I'd reached the front door to the house. I was panting hard and sweating pretty badly too, I'd walked down over fifty flights of stairs and now I'd have to take another painful shower!—_curse_ my bruising!

Boss walked up to me while I stood at the door trying to catch my breath. He was perfectly fine, I noticed, not out of breath in the least bit and hadn't even begun to sweat at all. How fit was this dude? He gave me the once over scanning me from head to toe and shook his head disapprovingly.

"You need to exercise more often, you're out of shape."

"Thanks for noticing." I spat still heaving for air.

He let out a low chuckle pissing me off even more.

"Just open the door!" I snapped and he did, he turned away still wearing that annoying half-smile as if my agony was just oh so funny to him, and then he opened the door.

I tripped inside afraid that I was going to faint because I was absolutely exhausted so I stumbled over to the couch and sat down as quickly as possible. Boss went to his room for a moment reemerging the next second without his outer jacket, a very much loosened tie and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He still looked rather professional, I'm quite sure it's near impossible for a guy like him to ever completely drop that dapper look but I appreciated the attempt. Of course I was also insulted at the same time. Here he had actually _undressed_ and still he looked much better than me. In my sweatpants and baggy shirt I felt frumpy and old compared to him in all of his majestic hotness. But I still didn't complain because this was a side of Boss that I probably won't be able to see very often. I doubted any of the guys in the office ever got to see him like this. His face was warm and welcoming, in that incredibly tired sort of way, and he flashed me quite a charming and rare smile as he approached the couch. It's funny how hot and cold our relationship can be. Not long ago we were feuding in the hallway over the elevators now he was all warm and sappy joining me on the couch….weird.

"Work was tough today, huh?" he murmured closing his eyes. I took this opportunity to stare at him shamelessly. His face was so strong, so distinct; it looked almost like a statue. The slight curve of his raven eyebrow hidden shyly under his wispy bangs drew him an extra layer of mystery behind those hazel eyes of his. And how could I forget the way his features melted into his perfect face? His nose was perfect, seeming to be carved out just for him and his mouth. I'd never noticed until now, being close enough to look of course. He had the tiniest downward curve in his lips giving him something of a natural frown. But when he was relaxed like this, on the verge of sleep, it was easy to see the hidden smile in his face. It was so small, barely noticeable, but it was there. All it needed was the right amount of coaxing and the smile would come, I can't believe I hadn't seen it before. Right there on his lips just before he parted them right between a horrible frown and a wonderful grin was a smile.

He had no wrinkles, no fine lines, no crow's feet. His face was perfect.

_How amazing_, I thought squinting at him, _how old is he?_ He appeared somewhere between twenty seven and thirty two, but I could be wrong, he may be younger like me, somewhere around twenty five. It's just that he had such immaculate skin for someone who experienced so much stress so often … and then there was that scar.

That horrible, ugly, beastly looking thing. It gobbled up nearly half his face and still begged for more inching around his head to nip at his ear. What the hell happened to him? I scooted closer to him, ever so slightly so as to not disturb him into waking up. The room was silent other than the short breaths that escaped him as he drifted further into his peaceful slumber.

I just wanted to look at him up close, who knows when I'll get this chance again?

I was inches away from his face, staring, gleaming, squinting. I was trying to see him from every angle possible … and then he opened his eyes.

I squealed so loud even he jumped in surprise and then I fell back almost crashing to the floor but he caught me by the wrist and yanked pulling me back onto the couch.

"It's rude to stare," he said giving me that horribly sexy, panty dropping, half-smile again.

"I'm sorry," I whispered turning bright red.

He chuckled. "It's ok," then he said in a suddenly serious tone; "You were wondering how I got it, weren't you?"

"Got what?" I asked teetering between surprise and embarrassment.

He turned his head slightly giving me a good view of his scar.

I didn't respond.

"I'll tell you, if you'd like."

_Hell yeah I'd like!_ I thought, but that's not what I said. The scar on my boss's face wasn't a birth mark or some silly bruise earned in a high school brawl. It was a serious injury and I felt rude intruding in his personal life like that.

"No," I whispered shaking my head. "I don't want to know, I don't really deserve to know. Its your business and your secret to keep."

Now he laughed in a sly, mysterious way and my heart began to pound.

"Katara," he purred, "I have _a_ _lot_ of secrets."

_Bounty hunting secrets?_ I thought to myself but I shook that thought away and said; "Can I know one?"

"One of my secrets?" he asked.

I nodded looking away trying to hide my intensely intrigued expression.

"Well," I heard him say, "I care about you Katara, more than you think."

I snapped my head up to look him in the eye and I regretted the second I did because instead of meeting the gaze of the monster-mode Boss from work I caught the kind eyes of a human being. A person with actual feelings, actual emotions and actual sincerity. Why did he do this to me at the worst moments!? Boss has a serious habit of suddenly and randomly showing his humanity, it breaks my heart each and every time he does it because I think of him as such a horrible person and then bam! His humanness comes out wrecking my rude accusations and tearing down my barrier bit by bit. It wouldn't be long before I'm head over heels crazy about this guy if he keeps it up like this because I hate my boss but I think I love the man inside of him.

"You care about me?" I asked in a whisper of a tone.

He nodded. "I was scared as hell when I first saw your location on the tracker I put in your phone. I didn't know if you'd been kidnapped or had gotten lost…I just didn't know what to think."

"I'm sorry," I said.

"And then I found out from the girls that you were there all on your own, how could you be so stupid Katara?" his voiced escalated at the end of his sentence and I felt like I was being scolded by my father.

"I don't know,"

"You could have gotten hurt, or worse, _killed_. Did you think about that?"

I shook my head again feeling full of horrible gut wrenching guilt. "I didn't think things would get so out of control, I never meant to start any trouble."

Boss sighed. "I can't take my eyes off of you for a minute can I?"

I laughed. "Guess not,"

"Just promise me you'll be careful tomorrow."

I nodded. "Of course." Hell no was I going to try some shit like that again. My day was insane!

"Boss?" I said looking up at him.

He glanced down at me still wearing those human eyes of his. Damn him! He looked so hurt and happy at the same time. I never knew he cared so much.

"Thank you for worrying about me, it really makes me feel welcome here."

He smiled and it was absolutely gorgeous. An actual smile from ear to ear, I never thought I'd get to see one on him.

"You're welcome," he said, "but it's nothing really. I couldn't stop caring about you even if I tried."

Now _I_ was smiling from ear to ear because that was the nicest thing Boss had ever said to me.

"Well," I said feeling high from my somewhat compliment from him. "I should go take a shower now," I leaned over so that I could give him a thank-you kiss on the cheek but he turned his head the last second and I met his lips instead.

Dangerous.

It was a timid kiss at first, neither of us sure if we should continue. His lips had barely brushed against mine but it was enough for the both of us. The moments inched on and our hunger grew, pulling us back for more of each other quickly changing the kisses from shy to urgent. I'd never felt so much intensity from such an innocent touch. It was thrilling, the way his mouth melted into mine and as I leaned back parting my lips just the slightest bit he found an entrance.

I gasped into his mouth moaning loudly at the feel of his tongue sliding against mine and he moved one of his arms hastily pulling me onto his lap to straddle him. I didn't fight in the least bit. The other hand went to my head nestling itself in a tangle of my chocolate colored hair. Now I was on full alert, my body responded to every touch he gave me from the tender kisses trailed down my neck to the slight brush against breasts.

This was heaven.

He pulled out of my hair and wrapped both arms around my waist to pull me closer to him never breaking the kiss at all. I could feel the rigidity of his erection through my thin sweatpants and instantly a throbbing heat began to build deep inside of me.

The kisses deepened to a maximum. Both of us were glued to each other sitting so close if I hadn't known any better I'd swear we were connected. He was rather controlling in his kisses nearly dominating my entire mouth with his tongue. I could hear him breathing hard through his nose and I knew instantly that he was holding back. Damn, how much more passion did he have in him? I was practically giving this kiss my all and he was somehow holding something back.

Feeling like I should take over, I pulled away earning myself an eager groan of disappointment from him. "Take your shirt off," I ordered clawing at the damn thing myself.

He smiled, happy to oblige. Slowly the buttons escaped their holes revealing the ivory skin of his toned shoulders, and then his chest and finally his abs. I ran my hands fervently up and down his body as he pulled me in for another kiss. Now we weren't just kissing each other, we were wrestling. We tugged, pulled and yanked at each other's clothes until finally, I'd gotten him completely out of his shirt and he'd, somehow, managed to untangle me from my pants.

More kisses were exchanged as I roamed his bare chest and he lied me down on the couch. His lips went to my cheek, my neck, my collar bone, and then he nuzzled his face in the top of my bra making me gasp in pleasure and dig my nails into his back. I could hear the strain in his voice as he groaned from the good clawing I'd given him and I blushed in response. I hadn't meant to hurt him.

A strong arm wrapped around my waist pulling us together as he nudged my legs apart with his knee. Our faces met again and we kissed with even more passion this time groaning loudly into each other's mouths. He pulled away to kiss my neck keeping a strong hold around my waist and I closed my legs around him bringing him even closer so I could feel his erection again. It was a firmer, more urgent feel this time and he moved his hips grinding himself into my core in a _very_ suggestive way making me toss my head back and whisper his name.

"B—Boss," I moaned and the instant his name left my mouth I was slapped silly with reality.

That word was like a jolt of lightning to me. All at once I suddenly realized what I was doing with my boss and all the pain from my bruises kicked into gear as I was knocked from cloud nine back to earth.

"I need to go," I whispered pushing gently on Boss's chest.

"What do you mean?" he asked, a confused look taking over his face.

"I mean I need to go, _now_." I said pushing more urgently.

Without another word he shifted his weight and moved so that I could squirm out from underneath him. I was left only in my shirt and underwear but I didn't dare bend over to gather my bottoms. I just turned and scurried off to my room as fast as I could.

"Katara, wait!" called Boss after me.

"I'll be out in a minute!" I said dashing to my room and slamming my door closed behind me.

I fell against the door gasping for air and trying to convince myself that none of this was happening. That my Boss and I hadn't just made out on the couch and that I wasn't happy about it. I was supposed to be proving to everyone that I didn't have a thing for him and this was _not_ how it was supposed to go. I'm sure what I was doing would pretty much confirm all the rumors.

A soft knock on my door jolted me from my thoughts and I whipped around to face the closed door.

"Y—yes?" I stammered knowing full well who it was.

Boss's voice came from the other side of the door. "Are you alright?" he asked, and his tone was so sincere I almost opened the door and invited him in. But I knew better than that.

"Yes! I'm fine!" I said still panting for air.

I could hear his breathing on the other side, it sounded relaxed, calmed, and soothing. It made me want to hear it up close, skin on skin, perhaps one lazy morning after a night of steamy sex I could lay my head on his chest and listen to his breathing for hours and hours, that sounded like a nice plan. But then I realized what I was fantasizing about and I felt sick to my stomach. Why couldn't I keep myself under control!?

He put both his hands against the door and spoke again. "Katara," he whispered, it was like he knew I was right there, ear pressed against the door waiting anxiously for his next words.

"You're not, uncomfortable are you?"

I paused, probing my brain for words. Was I uncomfortable? Hell no!—honestly I loved every second of it but I just couldn't let that happen. I could _not_ sleep with my boss! I'm better than that!

"I don't know," I said, my voice cracking with the high emotions in the air.

I could hear him slide his hands down the door as he said sweetly; "I didn't mean to scare you off. I'm sorry Katara."

I paused a second mentally committing suicide because I just ruined the best moment of my life. It's been months—_months_ since I've had any sort of action and just when I was about to be sexed up by a god I go running off bottomless and hide in my bedroom. Damn!

"It's ok," I finally said.

"Will you come out?"

I shook my head against the door almost bursting into tears. "I don't think that's a good idea." I answered in a shaky tone and it seemed like centuries passed before he replied.

"Ok, Katara," he said, "Have a good night then."

My heart broke into a million stupid pieces as I listened to him walk away from my door because I knew that I was breaking his heart too. For the first time, Boss had put down that horribly rigid barrier and let someone in. He shared an emotional secret with me and I felt like we connected but now I was just ruining it. I slid down the door resting my back against it as I shamelessly let my confused and angry tears run down my cheeks in a bitter rage. I was driving myself mad behind one man and a million rumors. Still, I wouldn't let myself dwell on it because I hadn't the energy. I was suddenly drained of all life, the only thing I could do was wither up and bawl my eyes out at the foot of my door like a child.

I was safe behind my bedroom door for the night, but I would have to come out tomorrow and face reality whether I was ready or not.

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**I hope you enjoyed that, more to come next week. Don't forget to review! Thanks for reading, and God bless!**


	9. Author's Note

Sorry to disappoint anyone but this is not an update. I just had a really long author's note and I didn't want it to be so distracting before the chapter so I uploaded it separately.

**Anyway,** **thanks so much for all of the reviews; I was super excited to read them and I tried to make this next chapter worth the wait but you'll find that not everything will be addressed right away. **

****This next sentence may be seen as a spoiler, read at your own discretion** **

**I'd love to jump right into Zutara and run with it but I need to keep the rest of the story moving so I have to get back to the Keyon's case before anything so expect an appearance from them in the next chapter. **

**I hope you all still it enjoy the update anyway. It's pretty long but I couldn't cut it off, sorry! And if anyone has noticed, I've changed the rating of this story from T to M. I haven't decided on whether or not I'm going to do a full on lemon in the future but I have to be honest; things won't get brighter from this point on. So just to be safe I changed the rating at the request of ****4minute**** (thanks 4minute!).**

**I sent PM's to a lot of you for reviewing my story. I'm sorry if I didn't PM everyone but I lost track of who I'd messaged and I didn't want to PM a bunch of people twice so I just stopped. Thank you to ****AnisaJoseph**** though, I couldn't PM her/him because of her/his settings. And also thanks to ****Snowstrike6****, I didn't PM you because we talk all the time XD. Thank you to anyone else that I didn't PM, I'm sorry again.**

**Lastly, I looked back at my previous chapters and I don't like the behavior portrayed by the twins, Mila and Lila. I thought I should make it clear to everyone that I do not, in any way, endorse or condone underage drinking. To each their own and no judgment from me, but the content in my story does not necessarily reflect my own personal feelings. I just didn't want anyone to flame me for it because underage drinking is a serious matter as well as sex between people who are in two different age ranges (i.e. 15 and 35) and that happens in my story. I just didn't want anyone to think that I take these matters lightly. Sorry if anyone was offended by it. That's also another reason why I upped the rating because I didn't want the behavior from Mila and Lila to be offensive to anyone.**

**From this point on serious matters will most likely be introduced, like discrimination, prostitution, rape etc. I don't want to scare anyone away so I'm warning you now. I promise that nothing I write is meant to be taken personally and also I'll warn you all ahead of time for possible lemons and other explicitly detailed scenes. I'm not guaranteeing that someone will be brutally raped or that deranged cults will be introduced as I haven't even finished planning out the story but I think it's fair to say that this fic is bound to bump into some controversial stuff and I want everyone to know now that I do not in any way mean to offend anyone by what I may write. I am sorry now if I have insulted anyone by the use of foul language and that (almost) lemon in the last chapter and I understand if anyone does not want to continue reading my story.**

**Feel free to respond to this A/N as you see fit. I'm open to suggestions and I'd love to hear any opinions on the new rating as well as the direction that this story is about to take. **

**PS. I should be posting the next chapter sometime today; I'm still doing some last minute editing. Thanks again for reading and God bless….. **


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own any of the characters or plotline of Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

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Chapter Nine

I dragged myself out of my horrible, horrible slumber the next morning with about as much enthusiasm as a dying turtle. Usually I feel amazing after a great night of sex, stimulated, relaxed and euphoric. But today all I felt was ill, dry and stupid. I couldn't believe myself, but not because I'd kissed him, I couldn't believe that I'd _stopped_ him.

What's wrong with me!?

There I was in the hands of the Fire Nation's most bad assy man, probably the most powerful guy on earth, and I just ruined it, flat out destroyed it. I understand the fact that sleeping with my boss is inappropriate but now I just feel like I've made a huge mistake. I mean, maybe sleeping with your boss isn't cool when you're flipping burgers at the local shack but this ain't no fast food joint. If Boss and I started a relationship I'd be set for life.

Now that sounds rather shallow, to only sleep with him for money, but deep down and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, deep down the money was the last thing on my mind. For once I actually felt like the man I was with cared about me. I felt like he meant every word that he said and that maybe he wanted me to say it back.

I'll be the first to admit that I can be about as easy as a grilled cheese sandwich to the hot and sexy. But Boss wasn't just a hot dude at the local bar. He had standards, and morals, and most of all he wasn't pushy. He didn't fight when I insisted on leaving and he certainly didn't pry my door open when I locked myself in my room. I guess what I'm trying to say is, Boss is a gentleman, and that scares the shit out of me because I'm just his bungling assistant. What the hell is so special about me?

I could have spent the next full week trying to answer that question but I had to get to work. No matter how much I really didn't want to go the truth is I had to, whether I liked it or not. It could have been worse though, because Boss actually got up early and left before me so I got the house to myself for the morning. There was no awkward staring or uncomfortable exchanges of quick glances. I had the house to myself and I sucked every last ounce of enjoyment out of it that I possibly could. I knew I'd have to face Boss sooner or later so I tried to stretch every second of solitude that I had. I showered and shampooed, straightened and ironed, primed and prepped and finally after two full hours of preparing; I was ready. I even got to search the medicine cabinets for bandages and took care of my bruising—which has healed quite a bit actually.

I didn't think I had to dress too formal since I was spending the day stuck inside of a hotel room with the girls so I took it rather casual in some grey trousers and a loose black tunic. I wore average heels and applied my makeup with a casual hand tying my hair back in a tight chignon to complete my look. I thought I looked nice and apparently so did the guys in the office because I got a load of whistles when I walked inside. Unfortunately I wasn't in the mood for their copious carnality so I threw them shy smiles and kept on trudging to the back office. Though I'm sure my smile came off as more of a caveman frown but whatever, I'm hardly nice to them anyway.

Jet was in my office when I arrived as usual. He was standing at my computer hovering over the desk chair clicking away with the mouse. He didn't even notice when I entered and only grunted a rather laconic hello when I smiled—genuinely—and waved.

"Ummmm," I said looking around awkwardly. "How's it going?"

He held up a finger silently giving me the classic "one moment" request and I hushed for half a second.

"Why are you on my computer?" I asked.

Jet squinted at the screen mumbling something to himself, not even acknowledging the fact that I'd spoken directly to him. I could have been a bitch and stormed over and unplugged the damn thing but I just bit my lip and looked away. I wasn't going to be tense with Jet this morning, my emotions were already all cloudy and weird I didn't need to add anymore stress to myself so I just crossed my arms and waited …. and waited …. and waited.

I could be wrong but I thought Boss had instructed us to be on time yesterday, actually he _always_ tells us to be on time. I know he likes to make an entrance, being the boss and all, but it wasn't like him to be this late. He usually came a minute or two after me to debrief us and then we'd leave but I'd arrived in the office fifteen minutes ago. This just wasn't like him.

"Jet," I said not caring about what he was doing on my computer, "where the hell is Boss?—we need to get going."

Jet sighed, clearly annoyed by my very presence, and stood upright finally separating himself from my computer. "Boss isn't coming." he explained.

I blinked a second letting my brain fart in confusion. "What?"

"He's not coming," Jet repeated motioning toward my computer, "I was revising our schedule for today, I'll debrief you."

He collected a bundle of papers from the printer and passed me some. "I'll be taking care of the Keyons alone today so I'll be dropping you off and picking you up. If you should need anything just give my cell a call." He pointed to the papers in my hand. "That's my schedule; I'll be following it to a tee so you should be able to tell my availability based on location. If the matter isn't too important, try not to call while I'm at construction sites—bad reception. Other than that I'll be back to drop off the Keyons around eight or nine, that's when I'll pick you up and we can return here."

Jet's information was cool and all, yay construction sites!—but the only thing my mind focused on was Boss. If it had been any other day I would have rejoiced but today it only puzzled me. How coincidental for Boss suddenly to be unavailable the day after we almost hooked up. Was he avoiding me?

"Where is Boss?" I asked cutting Jet off, he was still explaining the schedule.

"He's with another client, something came up," he said, "we had to switch cases."

I swallowed hard. "Ok," I replied, "can we just go to the hotel? You can explain all this on the way."

Jet frowned dissatisfied with my disinterest in his flawless schedule but answered; "Sure, let's head to the garage."

If there were ever a day when I'd miss sitting next to Boss in the front of his shiny black car it would be today. _God,_ I never noticed how much of a dud Jet could be. Don't get me wrong, he's an awesome guy, when you're on good terms with him, but lately I've noticed that he's mostly work and hardly any play. The guy's like some workaholic robot, it drives me insane. Whenever we're alone its work talk, work arguments, and even work related jokes—_ugh!_ I was _this_ close to rolling my neck up in the window just to spice things up a bit—but that seemed a tad too dramatic so I decided against it.

Ikki greeted us with a warm welcome when we'd made it to the room. He insisted that he didn't mind the fact that Boss wouldn't be tagging along this time and I actually believed him. I doubted the presence of four seemingly well educated men was _really_ necessary to pick out an empty lot anyway. Noah, on the other hand, stared at my boobs relentlessly. I was used to it now and, actually expected it, so I hardly even noticed until I reached to shake his hand and had to wait an extra beat for him to come to his senses. This kind of made me hate Noah a little because he's a married man, and it's not like his wife is horrible looking either. So what, Mila is only sixteen and she hates his guts but Lila's head over heels in love with him and there he was gawking at my tits like a kid in a candy store … a very tasty candy store—how disrespectful.

The girls came out just when the men were getting ready to leave; they were back to normal with Lila dressed in horrible floor sweeping rags and Mila in a conservative skirt and blazer getup looking like the prime example of a preppy rich brat. I actually had to resist the urge to roll my eyes as they smiled and waved like innocent little love struck girls only living to please their father and husband. If only their doting dad knew the reality behind their viciously teasing facades. For some reason I firmly believe Noah has _some_ sort of clue as to how the girls really behaved behind closed doors. I mean he's Mila's hubby, he must know _something_ right?

"They are _not_ allowed to leave the hotel room," Ikki instructed firmly. He looked at me with a tense expression and something inside told me he too knew one thing or another about the girls' habit of whoring and partying during their down time. Nevertheless I simply nodded in response and said I'd make sure they wouldn't go anywhere.

Ikki told me we could order room service or food from outside of the hotel as long as its delivery, he said we could order movies, play video games and download whatever we'd like and that everything could be charged to his room number or credit card.

I smiled graciously at this suddenly remembering the 15k I'd spent on renting out the bowling alley for the girls yesterday. I still haven't told Boss about that, _oh well_, I thought bitterly rolling my eyes, _I'll tell him when he isn't avoiding me_.

"We should be back before sundown but it'd be nice for them to be off to bed rather early tonight, we have to catch a morning flight back to the Earth Kingdom." Ikki said more to the girls than to me.

I nodded firmly and looked at the girls trying to at least make it seem like I was interested in this. Frankly, I just wanted them to go ahead and leave so that I could talk to the twins. I was eager to know why they'd insisted on me returning.

"And if something should happen," Ikki said growing very serious, "call my cell phone." He handed me a small business card with a number scribbled on the back.

"That's the number to my personal phone, only a select few people have this number so if you call I _will_ answer no matter what."

I nodded quickly copying the number into my cell and looked up with a smile. "I'm sure I'll have _no_ problems Mr. Keyon." I sang faking every ounce of surety in my tone—with these girls you just never know.

He smiled in return and turned to Noah and Jet. "Alright then, let's go." And with that, the three musketeers were off.

"Ok," I said turning to the girls. The doors had barely shut before I was bursting with excitement. "We can do whatever you want, movies, video games—whatever, but first I _have_ to know; why'd you insist on me coming back?"

Mila rolled her eyes and padded over to the couch flopping down with about as much elegance as a turd splashing in the toilet. "Don't get all happy water girl," she said with a bit of insult lingering in her tone. "We kept you around for our own purposes, not because you're _irreplaceable_."

_That sounds familiar_, I thought recalling a similar discussion with Boss. "So then, what happened yesterday?"

Lila joined her sister on the couch and turned on the television. "We told your boss what'd happened and he was going to fire you but then we said if he did we'd get our father to take his business elsewhere."

"I know," I said blushing, "that was really nice of you guys."

Mila cut in. "He agreed, rather reluctantly, and when we got upstairs to our room he told our father that we'd gotten lost by accident and some guys roughed us up before he found us."

My eyebrows shot through the roof. I had no idea that Boss had lied for me, really though, he probably lied for himself too. My poor decisions sort of made the entire business look bad.

"And Ikki believed all this?" I asked walking over to the couch. Lila was flipping through the channels not paying much attention anymore so Mila spoke up.

"Nah, he thinks we convinced you to do some dangerous shit but you're too afraid to snitch on us so he grounded us. That's why we're stuck in this fucking room all day."

"Um, you _did_ convince me to do dangerous shit yesterday." I said feeling insulted.

Mila snorted. "We asked you to take us to get drinks; you're the one who got into a fight on your own. That wasn't _our_ idea."

"It wasn't _mine_ either," I retorted.

Thank God Lila spoke up because I was about to break her sister's neck, that little bitch thinks she can speak to me any kind of way!

"That's how you come in, today." Lila said smiling.

I blinked for a few seconds trying to figure out what she meant. "Um, what now?"

She laughed and stood to her feet crossing the living room floor to grab a DVD off the small table near the television holding it up for me to see.

I squinted at it trying to figure out what was going on.

"Guess what this is?" Lila asked smirking. Mila stood and joined her wearing an equally creepy grin. They looked quite dangerous standing together like that and for a second I felt afraid.

"I don't know," I said, "tell me."

Mila answered. "We kept you here because we thought you understood us, we thought you really cared about our condition."

"Your … condition?" I said thoroughly confused.

"Yeah, you know? Noah and all of his perverted weirdness, its shitty right?"

I nodded unsure of how I actually felt at this point. When the girls had first shared their story with me it was heartbreaking but now it only seemed like they were using it as a sob story, like some sad excuse to misbehave.

Mila stood up and continued. "I did some thinking about you after you left yesterday," she said, "I thought, maybe she _is_ a bender and maybe other benders _do_ actually exist? And then, like magic, Lila did some research and we found out that bending _is_ real."

"And?" I said.

She laughed. "And it's also _illegal_."

Lila spoke up. "This is a copy of the video surveillance from the bar yesterday."

"It's a video of you bending," Mila added. "And it's enough proof to get you locked up for the rest of your life."

I tightened my jaw afraid of what may happen next. Will they turn me in? Will they have me killed? Will bounty hunters come after me? All of these thoughts came bursting into my head at once nearly knocking me unconscious. I literally felt sick to my stomach for a second.

"We could turn you in for a _very_ hefty reward," Mila said, "but we don't need the money. We could give this tape to the news and have every bounty hunter in the nation on your ass by tonight, but that wouldn't do us any good either."

She stopped to look at me probably enjoying the pleading expression on my face. She had me by the neck now; as long as she had that DVD I was literally at her mercy.

"This is the deal," she said in a serious voice, "You're going to let us do whatever the hell we want today. And when we're finished we'll give you the DVD. There's no copies, no internet files, just this. The guys at the bar sold it to us for fifty bucks, I guarantee those stupid fucks didn't watch it otherwise you'd have been in jail by yesterday evening."

"How did you get that?" I spat completely pissed off. They were blackmailing me! So this is what happens when brats get grounded?—everyone else has to pay.

Lila spoke up. "We have connections Katara, it happens when you're rich."

"You bitches," I seethed, "you're blackmailing me when all I've done is help you. What the fuck is wrong with you?—don't you know you're not supposed to bite the hand that feeds you?"

I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Boss's number but Mila's threat stopped me.

"If you call and tell anyone this tape goes to the news."

_Great_, I thought,_ I can't even call for help. _Not that it mattered though; Boss's phone had reverted to voicemail instantly. He was still avoiding me and right now I needed him the most. At this point I couldn't care less about our relationship status; I just wanted his help right now. But of course he's "_busy_".

"You really are a water bender, aren't you?" Lila asked.

I nodded. "How do I know that you won't tell anyone after this is over?"

"What's wrong?" Mila asked. "Afraid you're hunky boss will fire you if he finds out you're a bender? Or are you afraid that he won't like you anymore?"

I didn't answer, it was none of her damn business what Boss thought of me now or how he would if he should find out about my bending.

"You'll just have to trust us," Mila teased.

"I _don't_ trust you."

She sucked her teeth. "No one believes hearsay Katara, this is the only proof so you'll be fine once we hand over the DVD at the end of the day."

I rolled my eyes; really I had no option but to comply. There wasn't a way that I could tell anyone without being ratted out and honestly it wasn't so bad. So what, I had to sneak around with the twin demons again? I survived the worst of it yesterday, one more go wouldn't hurt.

Sighing loudly, I face-palmed and said; "So what are we doing first?"

Mila's evil grin melted into a girlish teenage smile and Lila burst into instant happiness. It's scary how easily they go from good to bad and vice versa. They should consider taking up acting as a future career they're a hell of a lot better than I was.

"You're going to order us some drinks first," Mila said—why did I see that coming?

"And then," Lila added, "we're going to have a personal designer from the city come in and dress us."

"Then what?" I asked.

Both of them snickered to themselves. "That's a surprise," Mila said.

I rolled my eyes. "Ok, whatever, what kinds of drinks do you like?"

"You can pick, as long as it's strong." Mila answered handing me a credit card. "Put it on this, my dad will find out we ordered alcohol if it's billed to the room."

"Smart idea," I said sarcastically, leaving to find the room phone.

I ordered small quantities of fire whiskey, scorched vodka and some red wine (for myself). I didn't doubt that the girls could hold their liquor but I didn't want to have any leftovers so I figured I'd just order more when they ran out.

Both of them took large, disgusting gulps of alcohol right from the bottle while I sipped on my single glass of red wine. They danced around the living room for an hour or two to no music instead choosing to shout the lyrics of their favorite songs with more and more enthusiasm after each gulp of liquor. I tried to call Boss two more times while they were busy. Not to snitch, I just wanted to hear his voice. I wanted to hear him say that he cared about me again and that maybe I was on his mind but I was bitterly slapped with reality when my call was instantly switched to voicemail again. At first I hung up as soon as I heard that stupid "Leave a message after the beep," but the second time I left a very heated voicemail about how immature he was being. I mean the guy gave me a cell phone with his number already wired in and insisted I call him and him only if I ran into trouble. He told me he cared about me! And then suddenly I can't get a hold of him after I rejected his sexual initiation. Now I was feeling like a second rate hoe, maybe having feelings for him was a bad idea.

It'd been nearly two full hours by the time my anger at Boss had sizzled down and the girls had tuckered themselves out. The bell to our room rang just as they'd lain out on the couch in a drunken dizzy heap. It was the designer they'd hired; a rather small woman with dark hair and equally dark skin. She came in wearing little to no clothes; I guess she knew she was dealing with youngsters because as soon as she walked inside they squealed in excitement, snapping out of their drunken stupor, and shouted in unison; "I want to look like you!"

The designer wheeled in her six foot portable closest and spent the next four and a half hours going through every damn garment in her case while I laid on the couch watching the fashion show until finally the twins were pleased and she was paid and thanked and out the door. They spent another hour on their makeup while I ordered some spiced tequila for them and then they took turns taking shots while they did their hair and finally, _finally_, they were ready.

Lila was wearing a deep red corset with matching black thongs sparkling from head to toe with rhinestones and other gaudy jewels. She had on heels well over four inches high and had applied her makeup with a very heavy hand. Her eyes had at least full bottle of liquid eyeliner to themselves while her lips had claimed a full tube of velvety red lipstick. Her cheeks had pale strokes of pink blush on them with a bit of sparkle tingling across her skin completed with a pair of fake eyelashes and a ton of mascara.

Mila was bit looser choosing to use body glue to simply place three jewels over certain areas of her body. Her entire ass was out loud and proud but I doubted she cared. She was insanely drunk—more drunk than her sister and was pretty close to vomiting up the bottle of whiskey she'd drank. Her makeup wasn't as loud as her sisters but I'm sure she'd gone through a full bottle of eyeliner too and let's not forget the bright pink lipstick she'd gone with and the fake belly button piercings.

"How do we look?" Mila asked. Though I doubt she cared about what I actually thought because she cut me off and told me to get to the damn phone the next second.

"What now?" I asked holding the phone. "You know we can't leave the room, especially not dressed like this so hope I'm not phoning your chauffeur."

Mila did a raspberry spraying me with drunk, sticky saliva. "Of course we're not leaving!" she said, "We're grounded."

Lila stumbled over and handed me a card. It was a red perfumed card with fancy black lettering that read;

_Cherry Boys playpen, phone us for a playmate._

"Hell no!" I shouted tossing the card to the floor. "This is a prostitution service. I'm not ordering you girls some call boys to bang while I'm here!"

Mila tapped her forehead. "Don't forget about our deal, remember?"

"How could I forget?" I mumbled thinking of the DVD. She'd put it away somewhere in her room while they were changing; I thought of stealing it but even if I did, then what would I do? If I snitched on them I'd have to explain that they were blackmailing me and then everyone would still find out that I'm a bender. It's just not a win situation for me.

"Fine," I said picking up the card again, "what kind of guys do you want?—no one over twenty five," I warned.

They nodded. "I want someone with dark hair and bright eyes," Lila described, "make him tall and with an accent please."

"I want someone with pale skin and bright hair, and then someone with dark hair and dark skin. Average height please."

"Two men?" I asked my eyes bugging.

She nodded.

I placed the order and was told to wait thirty minutes to an hour. The girls made me order a fresh bottle of black rum while they waited and they took turns sticking their fingers down each other's throats to vomit up as much alcohol and fluids as they could before their guests arrived. Lila puked twice and Mila heaved up her insides three full times finishing the last go over the balcony knocking off the jewel covering her left nipple—she didn't notice, I didn't say anything. Who cares?

The three men arrived together and I have to say they were pretty good looking guys. The first was obviously one of Mila's guys being in between tall and short with insanely dark hair and wonderfully bronze colored skin; he looked like he was from a southern part of the Earth Kingdom. The two guys with him were easy on the eyes too; one of them was for Lila and had a great smile that dazzled against his equally bright eyes. And the other was a silent beauty with his fare skin and hair.

Mila's bronze guy spoke first as I opened the door.

"Hey," he said smiling brightly. "Are we all here for you?"

I snorted. "No! I couldn't take three guys at once even if I wanted to!"

His smile faded a little and I blushed. Gosh, he was cute.

"Your clients are inside, they're young but experienced so please have a ball."

The girls burst into drunken excitement as the guys piled inside. Especially Mila, she basically pounced on her men without giving them time to even undress. In a matter of seconds the three of them were running off to Mila's room slamming the door behind them. Lila, on the other hand, decided she wanted to take advantage of the living room giving me a front row seat of the action. I tried to read a book, listen to music, even turn on the television but nothing worked. Nothing could drown out the sound of Lila and her guy having a go on the living room couch and especially nothing masked all the shrieking coming from Mila's room. At one point I thought they were all in there killing each other.

I was about to bang my head against the wall when Lila finally stood and took her guy by the hand walking him to her room—thank God.

One of the guys from Mila's room came out soon after while I was enjoying a sandwich I'd made using the supplies in the kitchen. It was the guy who'd answered the door and I couldn't help but smile as he looked at me. He gave me a curt nod accompanied by a genuine smile as he flopped onto the couch stark naked letting it all hang out.

"Hungry?" I asked from the kitchen. I came around and offered him half of my sandwich as I sat in the chair by the couch. He smiled again melting my heart and took a piece.

"Thanks,"

"No problem,"

"She's draining me dry in there," he said between bites. "I've never met someone so … energetic."

I laughed thinking; _that sounds like Mila._

"So, I didn't get your name." he said looking at me from head to toe.

"I never offered," I replied in my flirtiest of voices.

He smiled, I blushed—we both looked away.

"I'm Haru," he said leaning forward.

"I'm Katara."

"Baby sitting?"

"Rich little fucks," I spat rolling my eyes.

He laughed and it was as pleasant as his smile. "Aren't they all?"

"You do this often?" I asked.

He nodded. "I'm two years into the business, it's not something I'm proud of but it puts food on the table."

"I understand," I said swallowing a huge piece of sandwich. "I'm in the same situation, I mean I like my job but this isn't what I want to do for the rest of my life."

"Yeah, I get you. Baby sitting brats isn't fun at all."

We laughed together but I stopped to correct him. "I'm actually a secretary; this particular job is a long story."

"A secretary?" he said scanning me from head to toe again, this time he paused at boobs for a split second and I blushed again. "Do tell!" he insisted.

"Well, their father is a client of my boss; I'm filling in while he's out."

"Oh," he said, "what company?"

"State Enterprise."

His face sank and I could tell what he was thinking.

"I'm not sleeping with him," I said almost angrily. The words rolled off my tongue in a horrible bitter flavor as I thought of how Boss was avoiding me now. "I would _never_ sleep with someone like him."

Haru cleared his throat. "So, you're available?—if you don't mind me asking?"

"I don't mind," I said smiling, "And yes, I am."

"Maybe we could grab a drink sometime, when you're not with the kids," he laughed.

"And when you're not with another woman." I said laughing too.

His face fell.

Damn! I always go too far!

"So," I said awkwardly, "how'd you get into this business?"

He sighed and sank into the couch spreading his legs far apart to make himself comfortable. I looked away out of embarrassment, it wasn't everyday that I had a naked man stretch on a couch while we shared a sandwich.

"Long story short, my dad got arrested a little while ago. Now they're saying they have proof that he's an earth bender. It wasn't long after that came out that I lost my job; no one wants to have anything to do with benders in this shitty nation. This was the only thing I could get. My dad's on trial right now; I'm just trying to pay off lawyer fees and shit. Our life is hell right now."

"I'm sorry," I whispered thinking of myself and the girls and that damn DVD.

"It's all good," Haru said, "it's not your fault, but you understand right?" he lifted his head up from the cushion of the couch and winked at me.

"You've got blue eyes; you're Water Tribe, correct?"

I blinked a few seconds unsure of how I should answer.

He laughed again. "Don't worry Katara, it's not illegal to be from the Water Tribe, I just thought you'd understand being from outside of the Fire Nation and all."

"I do understand," I said, "The Fire Nation is brainwashed, they think it's ok to try to kill off benders, it's not right—they're still people."

"I know," he said hanging his head. "Look, I don't mean to impose but do you think you could help me?" he asked.

My eyes grew in surprise. "Help? How?"

"I don't know, State Enterprise is a big company right? I mean if someone that powerful got involved then my father would stand a chance on trial. I know it's a lot to ask, but could you try to get some support for benders from State Enterprise?"

"Haru," I said looking away. He was right; this _is_ a lot to ask. If I went to my boss asking for support for benders, who knows how he would react? Everything about him tells me that he's a bounty hunter, he could have me killed and Haru too if I don't approach this cautiously. Still, I wanted to help.

"I'll think about it." I said looking Haru in the eye. Even if I had to help him myself, as little as I could do alone, I would do it.

"Thanks," he said standing up, "I should go, that girl's kind of insane."

I burst out laughing at his statement and escorted him back to Mila's room. Where he stayed for the next hour of so.

All three of the guys emerged from their rooms a little more than an hour later. Haru and his partner looked absolutely exhausted and each asked for a glass of water as soon as they were set free. Lila's guy enjoyed a glass himself and the three of them allowed me to order them room service on the Keyon's tab of course. We spoke while they ate and I actually enjoyed it, Haru's a traveler from the Earth Kingdom, his partner, Setton is from the Earth Kingdom too—he loves his job one hundred percent and actually asked me to give Mila his number when he left. Lila's boy; Shiro was a tad bit shy, he was from the Fire Nation and said that his parents had met in this business so he felt that he should continue on the legacy—whatever that means.

The boy's dressed and left when they were finished, Setton reminded me for the hundredth time to give Mila his number, I made sure I ripped it up when he was gone—it was for his own good. Shiro thanked me for the room service and left me his business card and Haru and I shared an extra special moment. He grabbed both my hands as he stood in the doorway and looked me in the eye.

"Promise me you won't forget about me, ok?" he said with sincerity sparkling in his eyes.

I nodded. "Of course, how can I contact you?"

He passed me a piece of crumpled paper with a number scribbled on it. "Call me anytime, even when it's not work related—no, _especially_ when it's not work related."

I laughed. "I will."

"Promise?" he asked kissing one of my hands.

I smiled and looked at him a long time. Something about the kindness resonating from him made me nod my head. "I promise."

I cleaned up the room as best I could with the little time I had left. I had to collect all of the empty liquor bottles and toss them out down the hall, then I set out the trays from the room service and headed into the girls' rooms. Lila was first, she was laid out on her back like an eagle completely naked, snoring loudly, and drooling a bit. I washed her face and mouth with a damp cloth and forced her flaccid limbs into a nightgown before rolling her onto her side so that she wouldn't choke on any vomit. She smelled like alcohol so I pulled her hair away from her face and rubbed some scented lotion over her body hoping that would mask the smell a bit. I tossed her clothes in the trash, wouldn't want her father finding those and then I collected the used condoms I found on the floor and tossed those too.

Mila's room was a complete wreck. She'd fucked all over the place. The dresser had drawers open with perfume bottles and other trinkets knocked over and some had fallen onto the floor. The covers, sheets and even pillows had been removed from the bed and were strewn throughout the room along with countless used condoms. Her bedside table had been knocked over; thank God the lamp survived, and underneath the lamp was the DVD. It was still in one piece without a scratch; I scooped it up in a hurry and ran out to stuff it into my purse before I forgot.

Mila herself was sleeping with her face down in the bare mattress and her ass tooted straight up into the air gaping wide open and decorated with white trails of drying semen.

"Mila," I said to myself almost feeling sorry for her, but I knew better than that. She probably enjoyed being degraded to such a low level.

I actually carried her to her bathroom and gave her a short bath wiping the smelly puke from her mouth and letting her vomit right into her bath water when she'd woken up choking on it. I dressed her in only a nightgown and after replacing her sheets and covers I made sure to roll her onto her side so that she wouldn't choke on any more throw-up.

Finally, when I was done I felt like I actually earned the giant paycheck that was due to me in the next few days. It was only a matter of minutes before Ikki, Jet and Noah arrived back. They were completely shocked to learn that the girls had "behaved" and that they were sound asleep. I smiled a fake smile and nodded at the right intervals as they complimented me, I just wanted to get the hell out of there.

Jet droned on about work and how successful his day and his schedule had turned out while I daydreamed about burning that DVD, then about Haru and then about maybe having a date with him. It seemed nice, we could go to dinner, then to a movie and then back to his place and hopefully I'd get laid—suddenly an image of Boss flashed into my head and I blinked it away. _Right_, I thought, _I almost forgot about him_. Just when I was close to accepting the fact that I had feelings for him and that it was ok, he does this. He avoids me like a child.

I said goodbye to Jet and thanked him for picking me up before heading to my house. It was empty, cold and quiet—no Boss in sight, and even though I swear I was pissed off at him my heart actually hurt a little. I stuffed that stupid DVD into the bottom of my underwear drawer promising myself that I would destroy it later then I fixed something to eat spending the entire time contemplating on whether or not I should call Boss again. Maybe he really is busy?

I showered and washed my hair still thinking about Boss and finally before I went to bed I gave him a ring.

He didn't answer.

_At least I can have dirty dreams about Haru tonight without any guilt_; I thought lazily climbing into bed. Though I have to be honest; Haru wasn't in my dreams at all. It was someone a bit taller, a bit paler and bit more mysterious.

* * *

**More to come next week! I really hope you all enjoyed it, don't worry Boss will be back next chapter and that kiss can finally be addressed, I just had to sum up the Keyon's case. I'm pretty tired of calling Zuko "Boss" maybe it's time Katara learns a little more about the man behind the scar? Who knows…? Thanks for reading and God bless! Don't forget to review!**


	11. Chapter 10

***Warning***

**The first part of this chapter is a request from fellow reader (and frequent reviewer) ****Shimmer****. If you guys aren't into kinky revenge shorts then feel free to skip ahead to the divider and read on from there. **

**The first part is **_**not**_** a lemon. It just has little to nothing to do with the actual plot so don't worry about not reading it. It won't hurt the storyline if you skip it.**

**Shimmer, I hope you enjoy it. I'll admit now that it could be more explicit/graphic but I've never written anything like this (which is why it took me so long to answer your request) and I didn't think I could make it any more detailed without it becoming sexual. Anyway, I hope you like it regardless.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own any of the characters or plotline of Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

* * *

Chapter Ten

I had a dream about Boss last night. It was crazy as shit.

It started off with me waking up in my pajamas in the middle of the night. Except my pajamas weren't the normal shorts and t-shirt that I usually wear, it was something a bit more … risqué. I was wearing a sheer black nightie with insanely sexy red underwear underneath. My hair was wildly curly only in that gorgeous model sort of way, not that frizzy curling iron look. I had on the perfect amount of makeup complete with lusciously painted red lips and eyelashes to die for. I was barefoot and the floor was incredibly cold when I stepped out of bed. The house seemed as if it'd been transformed and, for a second, I wondered where exactly I was.

The stairwell was glowing candlelight red and the intensity grew as I neared the living room—_that_ living room. The one where I shared the heated, forbidden kiss with my boss. Each step brought back surges of memories of that night nearly driving me insane. Only it wasn't insane in a bad way, it was good. Really good. Everything I remembered about our kiss was intensified tenfold. By the time I made it over to the couch I was dripping in sensual sweat. But when I sat down my memories changed.

I could no longer think of how good it felt to have Boss nipping at the skin of my neck or whispering sweetly into my ear. All of the pleasure from our kiss had vanished and was replaced with pain. Pain of how he was immaturely avoiding me after sharing such a sweet and powerful emotional moment. And the pain of him telling me—_confessing_ to me—how much he cared about me and then dropping me like a log.

It was so much hurt I thought I was having a heart attack there on the couch. I pulled my knees up to my chest and lied in the fetal position heaving for cold air that wouldn't come. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I cried and cried mumbling to myself about how much of an idiot I was being. I just wanted him to know how I felt, how much I hated him right now, and how much I missed him too. I'd give anything to let him know how much pain I was feeling, and suddenly I came to my senses.

It was like a light had literally flipped on in my head and in the living room as well. "This is my dream," I whispered sitting up. If I wanted him to feel my pain, then he would—and he would feel it my way.

I closed my eyes letting my tears dry up and thought to myself of everything my boss deserved. I didn't want to kill him; I just wanted to hear him scream.

When I opened my eyes I realized that I was, indeed, in control of my dreams. Both the house and I had returned to normal. There was no more candlelight or voluminous hair. I was back in my PJ's looking as dowdy and frumpy as ever and the living room was no longer screening my memories into my head at lightning speed. Everything was normal again … except now I wasn't alone.

Sitting right next to me on the sofa was Boss.

He was simply sitting there with his eyes closed and his head tilted back obviously taking a nap. His lips were parted slightly and moved the tiniest bit as he breathed in and out letting his toned chest rise and fall in sequence. It was beautiful really, just the mere sight of him. And just like before, I found myself staring again, falling into a mesmerizing trance unable to break away from the strong pulling effect he had on me. It was like even in my dreams he had a choke hold on my heart.

Now he opened his eyes and I jumped in surprise, just like before.

"It's rude to stare Katara," he said smirking.

I lowered my eyebrows. "I didn't bring you here to relive some old memories." I said and I actually meant it.

He glowered. "Then why am I here?—in your _dreams_?"

"I brought you here so that I could make you feel every ounce of pain that you've made me feel."

His eyes softened and my heart broke a little. I hated seeing his sincere face, it—literally—made him look like an angel and me look like a monster. "I've been hurting you?" he asked in an honest tone.

I looked away. I couldn't face those eyes anymore. Those deep, enchanting eyes held the truth behind his façade; they were the crack in his mask and the peephole to his heart. No matter how monstrous his exterior seemed you could always find that kind, loving man inside of him hidden in the corner of his eye.

But tonight that man would have to remain anonymous. I couldn't show him mercy, not for a single second.

Boss tried to say more but I closed my eyes again and let the scene change. When I peeled back my lids I was no longer in my living room. I was sitting on my bed in the pitch dark of the night. I stumbled around for a few moments in the engulfing blackness around me until I found the light switch and I gasped when I clicked it on.

My room had been transformed; my bed was the only thing that remained in place. I no longer had a dresser, or a bedside table, or even a closet. Instead I only had a bed tucked into the corner of the room with two pillars standing center stage. Chained between the pillars was Boss.

It was a rather humorous sight, seeing him so helpless like that. He was standing tall on both feet with his arms chained to the higher part of the pillar way above his head. He barely had the slack to lower his arms an inch. It looked uncomfortable but, of course, Boss made it look like a walk in the park. His face was stony, like always, and his breathing was steady but most of all—his eyes. They were dead, like an extinguished fire void of any spark of life. I took a step toward him trying to gain a reaction out of him but all I got was more staring. He looked straight ahead, not at me, just through me and it almost made me feel bad. _Almost_.

I closed my eyes again, for only a second this time, and when I opened them everything was the same except next to the pillars with Boss there was a table. It was loaded with all sorts of weapons, but not your usual knives, guns, and clubs. This table had the kinky sorts of things.

There were chains, whips, canes, and even leather belts.

_Ok_, I thought touching the whip, _this wasn't exactly what I was imaging—but it'll do._

I picked up the whip first; it was perfect for this sort of thing. Chains would be too gruesome and I wasn't ready to use the cane just yet—that would deal a different kind of damage.

"I'm not going to explain anything to you," I said with a shaky voice. I was standing directly behind Boss trying to compose myself. I wanted to sound just as collected as he does at work, isolated, aloof, and in control. I wanted to be like him, just for this moment, just for this dream.

"I'm not sorry for what I'm about to do to you." I said my voice gaining a firmer note. "You deserve everything you're about to get, a spanking—just like the child you are."

I waited for a second, hoping for some begging, pleading or at least an attempt to compromise with me, but my hopes were shattered. He stayed quiet and stubborn refusing to speak a word to me.

"Don't you have anything to say?" I asked.

He cleared his throat and I could almost hear that stupid smirk tap dancing across his lips as he spoke. "Just get it over with, _if_ you can that is."

That little remark sent me into a rage. I raised the whip above my head and swung sending it cracking across the flesh of his back. It tore his shirt open splitting the smooth skin underneath and spilling fresh, warm blood into the air. The sight instantly turned my stomach upside down and I snapped out of anger as I ran to my bed and puked on the floor.

I stared at the whip in my hand once I was done heaving up my insides. This wasn't what I wanted to do, I wanted to punish him—not _kill _him. Throwing the whip across the room I stood to my feet and wobbled over to the table again. This time I grabbed the belt, it wouldn't shed any blood, bruising maybe, but that's better than brutal slave-like scars.

Boss was still holding onto his hardcore, expressionless face when I returned to him. I rolled my eyes and shook my head at myself when I looked at him. Here I was vomiting out of guilt and gore because I couldn't stand to see him like this but he was simply acting like it was nothing at all. _Maybe I should grab the whip again_, I thought but I refused. I wouldn't stoop to such a low level of insanity. I don't think even Boss is capable of committing such inhumane acts.

At first I was going to aim for his back again, but the sight of his bloodied shirt and his open wound froze me in my tracks. Hitting him there would be overkill. It'd be borderline torture, even though this was just a dream I simply couldn't do it.

Putting down the belt I walked over to Boss and grabbed his shirt in my hands. It'd been torn from the strike from the whip and was left hanging in tousles around his waist exposing half of his chest and back. I had to fight an incredibly strong urge to take his shirt off and hug him. He was still an ass—but in this state, hanging by chains and bleeding badly, he seemed helpless, hopeless, and almost adorable. Still, he _had_ to be punished.

Ripping the shirt away I whispered; "Did it hurt?"

He rolled his eyes in response and my remorse vanished instantly. I pulled his tattered shirt away with little to no effort and tossed it aside. Then I reached for his pants. He was wearing dressy trousers, like he always does, and I reveled in the feeling of removing them from his body. They came down with seductive ease; sliding first over his lithe hips, then his tight rear and finally down to his ankles. Boy was he a sight to see! Much to my surprise, he wasn't wearing any underwear. Maybe I'm a pervert when I sleep but this dream suddenly seemed to get a lot better at this point.

The first whack came quickly and unexpectedly. I'd walked across the room in a quiet rush to retrieve my choice weapon; the belt, and then returned in equal stealth. A sudden desire to release him from his bindings surged through my body but I pinpointed that need and channeled it into anger. It was time to stop falling for a liar. I was fine with waiting for some answers, but I wasn't fine with being treated like some whore and Boss needed to know that, _now_.

I pulled my arm back as far as it could go and swung quickly. I didn't use much force the first time, only speed and it was perfect. It slapped him hard across the ass leaving an echo bouncing off the walls of the room. He didn't react and I wasn't surprised. No worries, I had _plenty_ of time to make him holler.

The next was harder, I made sure of it, but he still didn't even blink so I made the third hit twice as painful. I swung using both arms that time earning myself a short groan in displeasure from him.

I smiled. _Finally_, I thought, _so he is human_.

My hits grew worse from then on, each one growing more painful as I was fueled by anger, bitterness, and a bit of heartbreak. He grunted louder with each whack until finally, the last came stinging across his rear with so much force he actually threw his head back and cried out in pain. I stopped for a moment to enjoy the sound of his displeasure. It was music to my ears.

Both of us were breathing heavily; me from the spanking and him from the pain. He hung his head low now, panting hard as he waited anxiously for me to continue. His hair was slick with sweat and stuck to his forehead in a glistening sheen of ebony glory. His chest pumped up and down with every exhausted breath he breathed and as I swung my arm delivering the next blow he gasped in pain and tugged at his chains. He was writhing now but I still didn't stop. This was what I wanted. I swung again and again taking pleasure in his grunts, gasps, and then cries.

I was out of control when I heard them, swinging like a mad woman. The belt came down swiftly whacking him hard across his bruising ass. It was quite brutal, really. How much force I used and how much satisfaction I got out of it. Each hit brought a wider smile onto my face and when he gripped his chains and threw that sweaty head of his back screaming out in agony I nearly collapsed in pure bliss.

And then, he simply stopped.

He fell limp in his chains, so limp I thought he was dead for a second. I gave him another hit, a soft one just to see if he was still breathing. He gritted his teeth and gripped the chains holding him in place. His eyes were squeezed shut, clearly in pain, and he remained that way for a moment or two. His ass had begun to bruise badly now, it'd turned from a light red color to a burning bluish purple. Matched with the blood that'd trickled down from his back, he looked like a character from some horror film. And I was playing the villain.

Finally his arms relaxed and his eyes peeled open. He opened his mouth to say something but hesitated for a moment. I'd hoped for an apology from him. At first I only wanted him to feel the pain that I'd felt but now that that'd been accomplished I wanted more. Deep down I wanted acknowledgement. I wanted him to tell me that he knew what he was doing to me, emotionally, and that he was sorry for it.

His jaw loosened once again and he sucked in deep, heavy breaths. The pain from his spanking was definitely weighing on him now. I raised my arm to land another hit but his actions stopped me. He'd raised his head again. His eyes were closed again and his lips were parted slightly, but streaming down his cheeks were tears. Heavy, guilty tears that came running from his closed eyes in a constant agonizing flow. I raised an eyebrow; maybe he is sorry.

If that's the case, then I wanted to hear him say it.

I raised my arm once again and whacked him hard, harder than the last time and he reacted as such. His chains clanged against the pillars as he tugged hard on them screaming in pain. I ignored his cries as I swung again and they grew louder with each hit. They'd started as simple tears then grew to loud cries and now he was sobbing uncontrollably.

Each hit brought his head back in misery as the veins in his neck stressed looking as if they could explode at any second. He bit his lip so hard it brought a stream of blood flowing from his mouth to his chin and dripped to the floor joining his tears in a puddle of anguish. His ass was raw now, as I continued to hit. The belt was even beginning to tatter but I didn't stop. I wanted—no—I _needed_ an apology or I would go mad. All he had to do was say it, just admit it out loud that he was sorry and it would all be over. But he was a stubborn ass, as usual.

So I continued. I hit him as hard as my dwindling strength allowed and he continued to cry even stopping mid scream to plead for mercy.

"Please," he sobbed when I'd stopped to rest again but I ignored him, as usual, and went to grab another weapon.

This time it was the cane. I was tired of playing around, I needed that damn apology my psychological state depended on it.

I stood firmly behind him staring at his terribly bruised rear-end. He wouldn't be able to sit for weeks with the spanking I'd given him. And I wasn't even done yet.

"Say you're sorry!" I screamed bringing my hands over my shoulder like a baseball player. I brought the cane down hard cracking him good across his ass. This time his scream of pain blasted through the sweaty air in a booming shout nearly damaging my hearing. It reverberated off the walls and played a song of misery keeping pace with my constant hits and blows. He sobbed like a child as I hit him with tears pooling from his reddened eyes and running down his cheeks in a mass of sorrow. His limbs had long ago fallen limp leaving him dangling by his bindings as he no longer had the strength to fight his restraints any longer. He'd clearly given up.

"Please, Katara," he said sniffling. "I'm begging you."

"No!" I said and suddenly I was crying too. Because I hated being this monster, especially when he was so vulnerable like this but this needed to happen. I needed him to know how much he was making me hate him.

"Just say that you're sorry." I pleaded but he shook his head.

I hit him again and this time I grunted as I swung trying to conjure up more strength as I too was growing tired. His ass was blistering now; large welts had formed over his blue-black bruises. Any more hits would surely rupture them leaving him with a terribly scarred rear for probably the rest of his life.

"Just say it." I said and again he shook his head so I hit him once more.

This time he screamed but it was different from the others. It was a shout of pure pain. No sorrow, no anger, no other emotion was behind that scream but pure agony. He was nothing but a man in chains now. Boss was long gone and his dignity had left with him. He was broken.

"I—I'm sorry." he whispered, "But this won't be my last apology." His words came like a whirlwind snatching me from my dream into reality.

Suddenly I woke up.

"Weird," I said sitting up in bed. "That was weird as fuck."

* * *

I stood in my shower a good long time after waking from that dream. The water slapped my skin hard and it oddly reminded me of my queer dominatrix nightmare with Boss.

"Am I missing something?" I whispered.

The last time I dreamt anything that twisted was when I'd had one tequila too many at a fancy bar for a little less than classy birthday celebration. And now I was having weird dreams about beating the shit out of my boss. I mean, yeah, I was pissed off that he was avoiding me but I didn't want to strap him down and whoop him like a child. Maybe this was one of those things where your subconscious speaks to you.

?—well, what the fuck is mine trying to tell me? That I need to kick Boss's ass and then he'll apologize for his childish behavior? Somehow that didn't sound as amazing as it would have _before_ having that dream.

I stepped out of the shower and went straight to my room to get dressed. I didn't want to be late for work but I made sure I had a glass of wine before heading up to the office; I needed it after that awkward nightmare.

Jet was in my office again when I arrived. He seemed cheery as usual but I ignored him and sat at my computer desk not caring if he spoke to me or not.

"You're having a bad morning." he said sitting on the edge of my desk.

I rolled my eyes. "You noticed?"

He laughed in his usual witty way and left the office leaving me to myself for the rest of the morning. He stopped in to offer me lunch but I declined and chose to order take out from the pizzeria up the street. I didn't see him again until my shift was ending, he said good night, I mumbled something in return and that was my day. That's how the next three days passed for me without so much as a text message from Boss. I was driving myself insane wondering about him, thinking about him and telling myself to get over him—especially after that dream.

I had different versions of that dream each night, minus the spanking—thank God. Instead I was sitting on the couch with Boss; kissing him, hugging him and begging him to tell me how sorry he was. Each night it would end the same way; he'd pull away from our deep, passionate kiss and say in such a sweet tone;

"I'm sorry." But then his face would harden and his voice would grow serious and he would say; "But this won't be my last apology."

What does that mean!? I get the obvious part; he's going to apologize to me more than once. But why? What does he have to be sorry for, other than the fact that he was being an ass lately? Was he keeping some sort of secret from me? I mean, I think it's weird that in three days he didn't come home, he didn't step into the office and he didn't return any of my countless calls—but I don't think that's something to be so mysteriously sorry over. I started to think that maybe he'd quit until one morning Jet walked in and things changed.

"Want to go on a call with me? It may be fun." he said sitting on the edge of my desk.

"Fun?—with you?" I asked, "I don't think so."

Jet chuckled. "Boss will be there."

I snapped my vision up to him meeting his gaze for the first time. He was smirking like he'd expected this kind of reaction out of me.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked trying to sound casual.

He chuckled again, this time it sounded like he was reading every thought in my head. "C'mon, you've got nothing else to do here at the office. Why not?"

I didn't answer.

"Well, I leave in five minutes. You're invitation expires when I walk out the door."

To no one's surprise I was trudging on behind Jet as he left the office mumbling and grumbling to myself about how crappy my morning and entire week was turning out to be. Unfortunately for me, it was about to get a whole bunch worse.

Jet and I drove a few blocks together in silence through one of the most upscale neighborhoods in the Fire Nation. I watched in depression how the houses grew larger with every corner we turned and suddenly my thoughts turned to Haru. He's struggling, tricking himself out for money and here most of these rich pricks were probably throwing thousands of their dollars away on useless shit every single day just for the hell of it. For some reason after my experience with the twins and after meeting someone so sincere like Haru, I was beginning to really hate the rich and fabulous. _Speaking of Haru_, I thought, _I need to give him a call._

Jet peeled into the large driveway of a big white house. It was at least three stories high decorated with various extravagantly shaved shrubs and bushes and a completely enclosed porch. It left no room for peeping toms to get a sneak and gave the house an odd undercover sort of feel. The front of the house was crowded with people. There were big guys out on the lawn all dressed in black shirts with red lettering that read _State_ across the back; I recognized the uniform right away. In the middle of the crowd was a rather frantic woman in her bathrobe. It was a sheer little thing coming down just far enough to cover her most intimate areas—and nothing more. Of course the length didn't matter however, the nightie was completely see-through. Underneath that she was basically naked in a sexy pair of lacy underwear—obviously she'd been interrupted by something.

Jet turned to me in his seat taking off his seatbelt. "Want to come?" he asked.

I shook my head; I'd rather not get involved with whatever was going on. The last time I saw the guys in the _State_ shirts I was being strapped to a chair and bitch slapped relentlessly. I felt much safer here in the car.

"I'll just be a moment," he said getting out.

His door shut with a thud locking out all of the insanity happening around the vehicle. The woman in the bathrobe had erupted into a thundering roar of shouts and curse words as two men were escorted by a _State_ man from behind the fence leading, undoubtedly, to her backyard. They ignored her, for the most part, hanging their heads in shame as the large man taking them away tugged on their handcuffs. Now Boss emerged from the house and my heart stopped as soon as I saw him.

He was wearing his usual black suit with a gun strapped to his hip and that same plain expression etched onto his face. I couldn't help but fall breathless at the sight of him. I was so unbelievably overtaken by Boss's presence I hadn't even noticed that I'd gotten out of the car. In a rush of emotional moments I was out of the vehicle and making my way through the crowd right over to Boss. I was determined to see him face to face as I pushed through the _State_'s men. Some of them pushed me back knocking me off balance, one even shoved me purposely and I almost fell to the ground but I kept on going. I just had to speak to him. The only thing that stopped me was myself. I came to a dead halt when Boss turned away and walked in the other direction. He hadn't even seen me.

He approached the two men in cuffs and the _State_ man stepped aside moving to the bathrobe woman to try to comfort her. Meanwhile the men in restraints instantly shook to life at the site of Boss. The first one spoke to Boss. I couldn't hear what he was saying but his eyes told me everything. They were so large and so full of fear tears swelled up in them with each word he spoke and by the time he'd finished his statement they were streaming heavily down his fattened cheeks.

Boss nodded his head at the right intervals letting the man know that he was indeed listening. When that man finished speaking he draped a strong arm over his shoulders and spoke a fervent reply into his ear. When Boss pulled away the man smiled wryly at him, tears gone and eyes void of anxiety. I guess Boss had come to terms with him because the next moment he was motioning to one of the _State_ men and seconds later the handcuffs were removed from the young man and he was being escorted away to freedom.

The other guy, however, stood stony faced and mean as Boss looked him up and down. He didn't offer up a word and neither did Boss at first until finally the tension snapped and Boss spoke. He said something quick and under his breath, it was so fast I almost hadn't noticed that he'd spoken until I saw the man snap something back in reply. He must have said something to piss off Boss because he was bitch slapped silly by him the next second.

The man toppled over to the ground in a clumsy heap from the force of the slap. It sent him a few steps over but it obviously didn't hurt because he looked up and started shouting curse words at him only to be punched repeatedly by Boss until he was nothing more than a pile of limp flesh. Boss ran a hand through his hair slicking it back into perfection as he stood upright and exhaled heavily calling over one of the _State_ men. He said something quickly to him and the man moved to pick up the unconscious man taking him over to one of the black _State_ vehicles and tossing him into the back.

Boss approached the woman in the bathrobe now. She'd calmed down quite a bit upon seeing him beat the mean looking man senseless. Still, her eyes filled with tears when he'd reached her and she exploded into a sobbing fit as he put a comforting arm around her. He pulled her into a warm hug and let her cry until she'd emptied herself out. I don't know why but a sudden jolt of jealousy ran through me as I watched Boss handle the woman. He held her tightly in his arms running a strong hand up and down her slender back while the other cupped the back of her head bringing her close so that he could whisper sweetly into her ear.

My jaw tightened at the site of them together and I looked away pulling my face from the scene to stare at something, _anything_ but them. I'm sure he still hadn't seen me but for some reason I found myself stealing away heading back to the car for safety.

Something about the way he held her, the way his muscles relaxed as she began to calm down, and the way he looked at her when she'd pulled from the embrace. Something about their interaction made me wonder; did they know each other? I'd never seen Boss so emotional before—except for when he was with me. He had to have a personal relationship with this woman but before I could even begin to put together a suitable explanation to all this Jet was walking into the picture. He walked over to Boss and the woman and immediately Boss's face hardened again as he reentered his monster-mode.

He let go of the woman and faced Jet completely but his attention wasn't focused on his partner it was concentrated on something over his shoulder or _someone_ actually.

Boss was looking directly at me.

I was standing next to the car holding open the passenger door when he'd looked up and seen me instantly freezing me in breathtaking shock.

His face was unreadable as he looked at me and I'm sure mine was just as emotionless. I didn't know what to do, or say, or even think. Now that I had his attention I was speechless like a dumb idiot.

So he spoke first.

It was as if he'd suddenly come back to his senses. His face erupted into anger and he grabbed Jet by the shoulder shoving him around to face me as he shouted loudly; "What the hell is _she_ doing here?"

I gasped in shock. Well, that wasn't the reaction I'd been hoping for.

Jet opened his mouth to explain but Boss cut him off by yelling obscenities and other threats about snapping Jet's little neck and then burning his corpse—blah blah blah. Then he shoved Jet aside and pounded across the lawn in an angry stomp right towards me.

I stood shocked still as I watched him afraid that any sudden movements would ensure my death. But he didn't attack me when he reached me. He grabbed me roughly by the elbow and ordered; "Get in the car." as he shoved me inside and slammed the door behind me.

He marched around to the driver's side and let himself in slamming his door too and speeding off in rage.

Once again I was locked in the car with my pissed off Boss. The feeling was familiar, exciting, and scary at the same time. We drove only a few short minutes in stiff silence with only Boss's heavy breathing filling the air. I was too afraid to make any noise. Boss was more pissed than I've ever seen him and it seemed like all of his anger was aimed at me.

We pulled to a halt in a small side street and Boss shut off the car.

"What, the _fuck_ were you doing at that scene?" he asked. His voice was so deadly it alone could have cut through steel.

I shivered in response.

"Are you really this stupid?—or do you love putting yourself in danger?" he asked.

I bristled suddenly angry. "Stupid?" I snapped. "I'm not stupid."

"Then what were you doing there? Katara you weren't called there, that location is absolutely off limits to you."

"Well I didn't ask to go there," I said, and I was actually telling the truth. "Jet invited me; I had no clue where we were going."

"Jet?" His face dropped and for a second I thought he was going to faint. He flushed with anger turning as red as a stoplight and suddenly stepped out of the car. I followed him wanting to know what the matter was.

Boss had his hands on both his hips and his head was lowered. He was breathing hard and squinting at the ground. Obviously he was upset by something.

"That fucking bastard," he said and then he turned to the car and punched it shattering the window upon impact.

I jumped in surprise. I've never seen Boss like this. Trust me; I've seen him upset but not out of control. Boss always handled his anger well; he wasn't the type to lash out like this.

"Boss," I said trying to sound calm, "what's going on? Why can't I go to that location? Why have you been avoiding me?"

His shoulders slumped and he pulled his hand away from the broken window. His knuckles were red with blood and fresh scrapes, small pieces of glass stuck out from his hand and I gasped in shock.

"You're hurt," I said walking around the vehicle. I took his large hand into both of my own and looked up at him. His eyes, they were back to those big emotional orbs showing every pinned up feeling he's felt over the last few days. I instantly knew something was wrong, something was out of place—there was something he wasn't telling me.

The woman in the bathrobe flashed into my head.

"Who was she?" I asked growing serious.

His eyes shifted losing their hue and emotion instantly. "That's none of your concern." he answered pulling his hand away. He stepped around me and walked a few strides away from the car.

I followed him. "Why was she crying?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Why haven't you contacted me?"

He stopped walking and faced me. "Because I didn't want you involved in this Katara. I'm working on a serious case right now. If someone connects you back to me that would put your life in danger. Don't you understand?"

"What kind of case is this?" I asked remembering my dream.

"I'm sorry Katara," he said—more apologies.

"Sorry for what?"

He stepped towards me and I backed up bumping into the car.

"There are things about State Enterprise that you don't know about."

"Things like what?" I snapped my eyes burning with fearful tears.

He sighed. "Katara, State Enterprise, it—it's not what you think it is."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

He stepped towards me again and I tried to back up but I was pinned to the car.

"Don't come near me until you explain yourself." I ordered.

Boss looked at me with those eyes again. He sighed looking to the ground and parted his lips to speak but something cut him off. Before he could utter a word his attention was snatched away by something over my shoulder. I don't know what it was but Boss obviously had a clue because he ran forward and grabbed me the next second holding me firmly in his arms.

"What are you doing?" I shouted punching him weakly in the chest. He ignored my light hits and turned on his heel shifting us so that his back was against the car and I was held tightly in his embrace.

"Stay down!" he shouted stooping both of us close to the ground. I held my breath for only a moment and the next second I was being thrown through the air.

I'm not sure how it happened but I remember a loud booming noise sounding off behind the two of us. It was like time and sound had stopped for a moment. The only thing I could hear was Boss's heartbeat thumping against me and my nervous breathing escaping my heaving chest. Boss was calm as he held me, like always. His chest grew warm as we waited for those long seconds to pass and as time stood still he continued to heat. It was almost inhumane how hot his body was becoming; it was like some sort of energy was being formed in his chest spreading throughout his entire body. It was hot, scary, and intense—like fire.

Then came the boom.

It was so loud for a moment I was sure I'd been deafened by it. It was followed by an inferno of wind and flames. Our car was thrown around and torn to shreds while Boss and I were catapulted into the air over fifty feet away knocking me out instantly. I woke up to a crowd of hectic passerby and nervous neighbors standing over me. A bunch of them were on cell phones calling the police while others were running around frantically stomping out small fires and trying to ask me questions about what'd happened and if I was ok. Boss was there amongst the crowd. He looked like hell with his hair standing on end jutting out from his head. His clothes were torn to shreds and he was bleeding, slightly, from the mouth. He too was screaming at me.

"Katara!" he shouted and he winced in pain as he shoved a man aside to kneel beside me.

"Stay with me!" he said tightly gripping my hand but my fingers felt funny and limp. My hand slid away from his with ease and I realized, suddenly, that it was covered in blood.

There was a horrifically sharp pain in my side and it became more excruciating by each passing second. I went in and out of consciousness dancing with the devil as I tried to hold onto my life. Each time I came to, Boss was shouting at me; begging me to stay with him and not to leave him—not like this. That horrible pain was there whenever I woke up; it literally took me back out in just a few frantic seconds.

The sky was darker when I awakened for the last time; it was more of a sunset color. The crowd of onlookers had dispersed and was replaced by _State_ men and a bunch of men in white, undoubtedly EMT's from an ambulance.

One of them started shouting questions at me as soon as he noticed I'd awakened but the only thing I could say in response was; "Boss,"

Boss was pushing through the crowd of men trying to get over to me when I woke up again. He'd almost made it but a man from the ambulance stopped him insisting that he treat his injuries. Boss reacted by punching him hard in the face and instantly a crowd of _State_ men ran to restrain him as he tried to pummel the EMT to death. That was the last thing I saw before drifting into unconsciousness once again.

* * *

**I hope you all enjoyed it! Sorry that this update was late, I was stumped when I sat down to write it. Like, absolutely stumped! Anyways, thanks for reading and waiting patiently for my updates. My spring semester starts tomorrow, most likely my updates will become more sporadic. I promise I'll try to keep it once a week but I usually use weekends for homework so forgive me if I'm late sometimes.**

**Thanks for reading and God bless! **


	12. Chapter 11

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate all of the positive responses. This chapter is short and I apologize for that now but I think you'll like it. As an apology offering I'll try to have the next update out before the weekend. Anyways, please enjoy the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own any of the characters or plotline of Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

* * *

Chapter Eleven

I woke up to a white ceiling and knew that I was in a hospital. My body ached all over from head to toe and even though I'd just awakened, I felt terribly tired. The room was bright as I opened my eyes and closed them right away. The light was excruciatingly painful; _it must be morning_, I thought breathing slowly, _or maybe midday_. How long was I out?

I shifted my position and felt around. I could move every one of my limbs but everything hurt. My muscles screamed and tensed protectively within my injured body, my head pounded with a wicked headache and even my breathing proved difficult, stagnant, and painful. I moved my mouth to lick my lips but realized suddenly that I couldn't. There was a tube coming from my mouth and one in my nose as well. In a flashing moment my memories from the accident came bursting into my head like a three second nightmare. I remembered confronting Boss, arguing with him, hugging him, and then, somehow, waking up on the ground; unable to move, barely able to speak, and in more pain than I ever could have imagined.

_Boss_, I thought, he wasn't as messed up as I was but I still wondered; where is he?

I ignored the pain accompanied with opening my swollen eyes and forced my lids up. The light from the bulbs around me sent jolts of agonizing stings through my pupils but I forced myself to look around regardless. I needed to get out of there.

I sat up painfully slow and ignored the frantic beeping from the monitors and other machines beside me. The room I was in was small, really small, with no windows and only one door for escape. I pulled on the tube in my mouth and it came from my throat covered in a slimy liquid making me cough my brains out. I doubled over and puked on the floor as my hand caressed my throat. It was stinging worse than my eyes now but I ignored it and reached for the tube in my nose. That one came out with one good yank and it hurt worse than the throat tube did. I coughed more this time and the monitors went insane. In a matter of seconds my room was flooded with doctors and nurses who attacked me with syringes and more tubes. They spoke to each other in hushed frantic voices as I started to drift away and it pissed me off. I was right there and they were acting like I was already dead.

"Boss," I mumbled trying to fight the medicine they'd fed into my arm.

The nurse stared at me for a second with a pitying expression as if she knew exactly who I was talking about.

"Where?" I mumbled succumbing to the medicine.

She patted my arm. "Just rest for now." she said. And once again I was out cold.

The next time I woke up the tubes were gone, but the pain was still there and the room was just as bright. Those doctors must have given me enough medicine to knock me out for a full day. I sat up in my bed about as slowly as a dying sloth and endured the pain that followed. The monitors began to beep again and I started to panic. _Please no more doctors_, I thought.

The door swung open and in walked the very last person I wanted to see; a doctor. She was a tall woman in a stereotypical white coat and black framed glasses. Her face was emotionless and flat, she looked more like a dying patient than I did.

"Katara Rorano," she said flipping through some pages on her brown clipboard. I nodded my head and looked up at her with curiosity spreading across my face. "I'm Dr. Kira,"

_Ok_, I thought uninterested. As long as she wasn't going to give me more medicine we'd get along just fine.

"I have your medical report."

"Good," I croaked wincing at the pain of my sore throat.

"You were attacked by a fireblast which caused your car to explode. Your injuries were mostly sustained from the explosion rather than the fire."

"What happened to me?" I asked, and _what's a fireblast?_ I thought.

"The driver's door of the vehicle landed on top of you. It crushed your pelvis and your left leg. My team had to rebuild the lower half of your body. You _should_ still be in casts—it's only been two weeks since your accident—but your body has healed rather quickly."

I swallowed. Being of Water Tribe descent, healing quickly was something that came as a sort of side effect. The fact that I was a bender only increased my rate of healing even more. I just hoped this didn't raise any suspicion with the doctors and hospital staff. Of course after crushing my pelvis and leg and then having reconstructive surgery performed on my body, healing in two weeks sounded like some kind of freaky miracle. But I still hoped that no one noticed.

Dr. Kira raised an eyebrow as she spoke to me. "I've never seen _anything_ like this before Ms. Rorano."

"Maybe I'm blessed by the Lord?" I said trying to sound sincere.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, maybe so…"

"Can I be released now, please?—since I'm all better."

"No, you were in a coma for two weeks and you had major surgeries performed on your body. You'll need rehabilitation, Katara." She softened her tone and took a step closer to my bed. Her expression was gentle now; she looked more like a caring mother rather than a stoic robot. "Katara, you may have to learn how to walk again."

I didn't say anything. Learn how to walk again? Sure, I'd healed pretty quickly but that didn't mean that I was completely alright. How was I going to learn how to walk again? It's walking! I've been doing it since I was two years old! And now, in just a matter of days I've been reduced to a wheelchair and weeks of rehabilitation. This kind of stuff only happens on TV. I've seen the documentaries, on the patients who suffer horrible freak accidents. I've cried during some of those programs. I've spent time thinking about what I would do if that ever happened to me and now here I am, hearing those dreaded words myself. Life seems different when you live it through someone else's shoes….never take anything for granted.

"Ms. Rorano," Dr. Kira said bringing me back from my thoughts.

I looked up at her and she shook her head in pity before glancing away. "Do you need a moment alone?"

"Excuse me?" I blinked my eyes quickly and noticed for the first time that I was crying. Tiny tears had come out of nowhere brimming in my eyes in secret and overflowing when I'd least expected. I was more hurt that I thought.

"I'll leave you alone for a moment." Dr. Kira said turning to leave and as she walked away I noticed a symbol on the back of her coat. How could I miss it, really? It was a large, red exaggerated S drawn onto the back of her coat right between her shoulders. I recognized it instantly; the insignia for State Enterprise. If that sign was being worn by my doctor, then I could only be in one place.

"Wait!" I said and I probably damaged my throat so badly I'd need medication for an extra week.

Dr. Kira froze in place. She didn't turn around when she spoke and she didn't put any emotion into her words—she must have figured out that _I'd_ figured out where I was.

"Boss," she said and she paused for a moment, letting his name sink in. "He'll be here soon, but you should know Katara, he knows who you are."

_What does that mean? _I thought wiping my drying tears away. I sat in my bed anxiously awaiting Boss's arrival; I couldn't believe I hadn't figured out before that I was in a State Enterprise hospital. This room wasn't like an ordinary hospital room with no windows, no pictures on the walls, and no lifelike sensation anywhere at all. It felt like it'd been decorated by Boss himself. I was both nervous and excited to see him again, for one; I was dying to know how he was doing. Had he been injured as badly as me? And two; I needed to know what the hell was going on.

Just before the accident he was blabbing on about some deeply serious assignment and then bam! I was out cold, in—apparently—an explosion … from a fireblast? The only time I'd heard language like that was when I was in college. I'd taken an interest into bending laws and regulations—which was a hell of a lot. _Fireblast_ was mentioned only a few times, referring to fire bending.

Did that mean Boss and I had been attacked by a bender? Who would do that, why would benders try to kill Boss?

The only explanation I could feed myself was that whatever assignment he'd been doing somehow involved benders and not exactly in a positive way.

"No," I whispered shaking my head, "it can't be."

I'd tried to keep the thoughts from entering my head but I couldn't help it. Before I had the chance to dash them away I was thinking of Boss and all of his mysteriousness, the guns he kept strapped to his hips, the dangerous undertone in his voice, and the fact that no one seemed to know, or offer up, his real name. It was all beginning to make sense now; Boss was a Bounty Hunter.

"_He knows who you are." _Dr. Kira's words rang loudly in my ears.

_But how could he? _I thought to myself breaking into a sweat. Just as that thought crossed my mind the door cracked open and He walked inside.

Boss.

He rushed to my bed as soon as he saw that I was awake. I didn't mind the crushing pain that accompanied his tight hug. It felt so good to finally be in his arms again but in the back of my mind I didn't want to be within twenty feet of him.

He felt the tinge of awkwardness within our embrace and pulled away looking me right in the eye.

"Something's wrong." he said and his voice was low and serious, demanding an answer.

I took a breath and nodded my head. "I want you to tell me _exactly_ what happened to us."

He couldn't hide it from me, not the way he hid everything else, because this was personal. I needed answers now, I _deserved_ answers now.

Boss sat on the side of my bed exhaling hard. His face was solemn and I could almost envision the images that flashed through his head myself. He was thinking of the accident, I could tell. His fist clenched in anger and he lowered his head speaking in a dangerously low tone.

"We were attacked, Katara, someone from the crime scene was tracking me. They've been tracking me for weeks now."

"Wait, weeks?" I said choking on my words.

He nodded. "That's why I started avoiding you; I didn't want whoever was tracking me to attack you in turn. I didn't want your life to be in danger."

I sucked my teeth and flung my arms around. "Well that turned out _great_ didn't it?" I snapped.

Boss looked away unable to make eye contact with me anymore.

"You know I'm gonna have to learn how to walk again?" I was angry now, _furious_ was more like it.

"I'm gonna be in a fucking wheelchair because of you and your God damned secrets!"

"I'm sorry, I never meant for you to get hurt, I never meant for any of this to happen." He stretched out his hand and stroked my cheek. "I'll find a way to get the people who attacked us."

"Don't touch me." I seethed and I slapped his hand away from my face. After everything I'd been through the only thing he had to say was "I'm sorry" and that he would "find" the people who did this to me. He didn't even care about my condition; he was only concerned with revenge. Maybe I was wrong; there is no emotional man hidden beneath Boss's workaholic exterior, there's only one side to him; a complete monster.

"How will you get the people that attacked us?" I asked angrily. "By tracking them down?"

Boss stared at me.

"I figured you out you know; you're a fucking Bounty Hunter. We were attacked by benders Boss, because you're a _horrible_ monster and I hate you!" I burst into tears and turned away from him. I couldn't believe how emotional I'd gotten; I wanted to be angry at him not crying my eyes out. The only thing that I could think about was my mother and how she'd died a terrible death at the hands of a bounty hunter right in front of me. Probably a Hunter from this company. And I've been slowly falling for one myself. I'd nearly rolled around in bed with one! I was so ashamed of myself, I've betrayed my mother, my Tribe, and every other bender in the world. I've been working side by side with a Bounty Hunter and I didn't even know—no—I _did_ know, I just chose to ignore all the signs. The secret department hidden in the back of the building, the time I walked into a fully loaded weaponry, everything was screaming Bounty Hunter but I was too foolishly smitten to comprehend it all.

Boss shifted on the bed and placed a warm hand on my back gently rubbing circles as he spoke softly. "I hate making you upset Katara."

"I'm not upset," I said through my tears shaking his hand off my back, "I'm mad as hell."

Boss sighed as he watched me cry but he didn't dare to wipe my tears away for me. I swear I would have bitten his fingers off if he would have tried to touch me again.

"No matter what I say, you'll be angry with me. I'm not sure how to tell you anything."

My hands dropped to my sides and I moved to look at him again. Tears were still coming in masses swarming my puffy face and running down to my chin. Boss's eyes met mine and he didn't look away this time. Only a still silence lingered between us; words weren't an option at the moment. I could see it in his eyes, all of his secrets, all of his truths just waiting to come out. But he didn't speak, he just sat there looking at me, studying me, waiting for me to say something first.

"I just want the truth," I whispered and my words brought more tears to my eyes because I wasn't just talking about him, I was talking about everything. My job, the company, my mother—_everything_. I wanted to know it all.

Boss parted his lips to speak. He kept his eyes locked with mine and his voice came out breathlessly, barely a whisper.

"My name is Zuko," he said, "and I'm a Bounty Hunter."

* * *

**I know, cliffhanger—ugh. But I needed to cut it off because the next part would have made the chapter **_**really**_** long. Sorry for such a short update, and I'll explain everything in the next chapter! I'll try to update faster to make up for it. Thanks for reading and God bless!**


	13. Chapter 12

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and previous ones as well. As promised, here's the next update—**_**before**_** the weekend. I really hope it explains some things so that no one is confused anymore. Please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own any of the characters or plotline of Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

* * *

Chapter Twelve

It'd happened when he was a boy. Ten, maybe eleven—he couldn't remember exactly. The funeral was so dark and somber with everyone dressed in black, red and various shades of grey. No one was smiling or laughing, there was nothing funny about the death of the would-be Fire Lord. Zuko remembered the feeling he had when he approached the large casket. It was so black and so unsightly it seemed to mimic death itself. The young prince had been to funerals before but this one had an adverse effect on him out. It haunted him to no end in his dreams, throughout his memories and even invading his everyday thoughts because this time there was someone dear to him lying in that wooden box. Beside it was another casket, equally long but not as wide. Two men were taken from the young Prince in a matter of days.

Fire Lord Ozai made the announcement to the public after a private ceremony had been performed. General Iroh and his son; Lu Ten were dead. According to authorities the two had been attacked, ambushed by a group of ruthless benders one night. Apparently neither of them had a chance of survival. Zuko had believed his father's words from that moment on, he was only a boy, no child ever expects their parent to lie about such a sensitive thing. However, as time progressed and the Prince grew older, his mind began to wonder. How could a General _and_ his well trained son be taken out so easily?

Asking questions sometimes brings you horrible answers.

The illegalization of bending had become a regular thing by then. It was originally enforced by Fire Lord Sozin and had been passed down through the generations to Fire Lord Ozai. Despite being benders themselves, it was easy for this ruthless family to turn against their bending brethren especially when world domination was the goal.

Fire Lord Sozin wanted to find a way to take over the world without having to sacrifice precious Fire Nation soldiers. He thought it would be easy to avoid a world war by simply taking out the people who could fight him most efficiently. The only thing he didn't think was that it would take so long. The process would require the Fire Nation to shift their entire law enforcement structure. It was a grueling process which Fire Lord Sozin didn't live to finish. His work was passed down all the way to Fire Lord Ozai. First minor laws were passed, then unbearable restrictions were made, and finally bounty hunting began. It was a slow progression but by the time Zuko became a teenager this small transgression had escalated into a full out massacre.

No one ever questioned the intentions of the Fire Lord, no one ever questioned the morality of it all, and those who dared to even think about speaking out against the almighty Fire Lord were dealt with accordingly.

First it was Iroh and his son. Word had gotten out that the two were creating some sort of underground organization of benders and planned to stage a coup d'état against the Fire Nation. No more than two weeks later the two of them were mysteriously "ambushed" and killed. Their organization was vandalized and their records were burned.

Years later the same heinous crime was committed against Zuko and his mother only days after the young Prince had spoken out in protest against inserting Fire Nation soldiers into Earth Kingdom villages. According to a saddening and heartfelt press release, done by Fire Lord Ozai himself, Zuko and the Fire Lady had been attacked by a "coldblooded" gang of "sadistic" and "out of control" benders. The Fire Lady was murdered but Zuko's body was never found.

Fire Lord Ozai jumped at the opportunity to exploit his wife's and son's "accident". He fed insane ideas to his people to encourage their participation and support in spreading the banning of bending beyond Fire Nation walls. He pried on the weakness of the Nation's mourning hearts and told them that equality was what the world needed. It wasn't hard to agree with him when everyone believed that _benders_ were responsible for first; the death of General Iroh and his son Lu Ten and then, the Prince and the Fire Lady..

Except, Zuko wasn't dead.

He'd survived his father's organized attack though Ozai hadn't expected him to. Zuko was far better trained than his father gave him credit; thank God he'd always underestimated him. Not long after he'd escaped the attack Zuko fled the Fire Nation on his own and arrived in the outskirts of the Earth Kingdom. He lived in secret easily assuming another identity with that horrible scar distorting his face nearly making him unrecognizable. He went by the name of his late cousin; Lu Ten and, in doing this, he eventually caught the eye of a curious old man.

Much to Zuko's surprise, Iroh had survived his so called "accident" as well. The two lived together as refugees in Ba Sing Se training, learning and planning for the day they would rise against the Fire Nation. After Zuko turned eighteen and had lived so many years ducking and hiding, watching from a distance as the world fell right into his father's trap, he devised a plan. He decided that he would carry on his uncle's first intentions and become a Bounty Hunter, a damn good one at that. But, like his uncle, he wouldn't hunt benders to kill them, he would collect them, house them, train them, build an army, and end the massacre started by his great grandfather.

It was through bounty hunting that Zuko met Jet. At the time Jet was tromping through the forests of the Earth Kingdom arrogantly boasting about his small platoon of kid soldiers he called; Freedom Fighters. The two were young, brash, and naïve but they saw the world from the same point of view, they wanted the same thing. So they joined forces and birthed State Enterprise.

Together Zuko and Jet rebuilt the organization first created by his Uncle Iroh under a new name and a new agenda right in the center of the Fire Nation. State Enterprise would appear to be a regular dominating business from the outside, taking over one company at a time, only interested in another profit. The inside, however, would hold a sub-division of the world's best trained benders and assassin's quietly waiting for their time to strike. No one knows about the origins of State Enterprise, and no one knows about its secret sub-division either. Zuko and Jet have both gone through great lengths to keep their motives a secret, including cutting off communication with his very own uncle. Zuko hasn't spoken to him since he left at eighteen, no communication was their deal, they're supposed to be dead after all. He considered it a bitter sacrifice, but it would all be worth it in the end.

* * *

I couldn't believe anything Zuko was telling me. He was secretly a Prince? His father had tried to murder him? And State Enterprise was a "good" bounty hunting organization? It was all so much to take in. I remember when the "accident" happened with him and his mother. I was still living in the Southern Water Tribe with my father at the time but it was big news. They even aired his supposed "funeral" over a television broadcast. We didn't have a TV at home but I remember listening to it over the radio. I remember feeling so sorry for the boy who'd died in a burst of flames. I was so afraid after that, people started saying horrible things about benders, like we were good for nothing, that we only brought harm to other people, and that we shouldn't exist.

After that my dad insisted I keep my powers a secret, not that I ever really used them. But he was onto something. I had no clue how far the ban on bending had gone until I actually left home for college. I was so determined to just get the hell away from my useless chunk of iceberg that I didn't even realize I'd nearly gotten myself killed on multiple occasions. Probably the only reason Hunters never caught me is because I'm no good at bending. It's horribly forbidden _everywhere_. Only rural villages in the Earth Kingdom hold pockets of benders and they're in hiding, living life as regular, everyday people, keeping their powers a secret. It makes me sick to my stomach knowing how this all began. What a twisted, yet complicated plan; taking over the world by exterminating the only people powerful enough to stop you. And then gaining the support of nearly the entire world by sparking an outrage fueled by a lie that the young Prince of the Fire Nation—an innocent child—was murdered by heartless benders. It was horrifying to say the least.

I sat in my hospital bed staring at my white sheets as Boss's—_Zuko's_ story lingered in my ears. It was either an elaborated and well thought out lie, or it was the most manipulative master plan I've ever heard.

I believed the latter.

"So, you're a bender?" I asked with wide eyes.

He nodded. "A fire bender…a master." That explained why he'd gotten so hot just before the explosion and why he'd suffered incredibly minor injuries. He was fire bender; he could easily protect himself from an explosion.

"And…" I paused and he answered my question before I could even begin to utter the words myself.

"Yes," he said, "I know you're a bender too. I've known all along, that's why I hired you Katara. To get you closer to State Enterprise, to get you to join me."

"How come you didn't tell me that you knew?" I gasped.

He smiled. "It's your secret to tell. I wanted you to tell me when you were ready; I wanted you to trust me."

"How did you know?"

He shrugged. "You're so emotional."

"What the hell does that mean?" I snapped.

"You're blood rushes to your head faster than any normal person, it makes you impulsive. That and I did a background check. You had some minor arrests related to bending while you were in college…I just figured."

"Oh," was all I could manage to say. There were so many questions swarming in my head I could barely focus on one answer before blurting out the next inquisition.

"So, the benders who attacked us," I said thinking aloud, "they don't know that you aren't the bad guy?"

Boss shook his head as he stared at the floor. His story had drained him of all emotion; he was nothing but an empty shell sitting beside me now. I felt kind of ashamed of myself. All this time I'd been wondering and worrying, thinking that Boss was a traitor and I couldn't be more wrong. He'd kept so many secrets because he _had_ to. He was supposed to be dead. That horrible scar was the only thing that kept his identity hidden; no one would ever suspect that this terribly distorted face once belonged to the striking, youthful Prince.

To me, he was beautiful. That scar was a reminder of the battle that not just he, but _everyone_ was fighting. It reminded me of the freedom that I desired, of the justice that so many people deserved, and of the undying loyalty that Zuko, the Prince of the Fire Nation, rightful heir to the throne and my boss had.

"We have to tell those activists that we're not bad, we have to let them know somehow…" I said trailing off in thought.

Boss looked up at me and my thoughts vanished. He was shaking his head.

"No Katara," he said reaching to take my hand. "We can't let them know about State Enterprise."

I frowned. "Why?"

He sighed for like the hundredth time. This day was just _full_ of terrible truths and tragic honesty.

"You're going to be awfully upset with me when I tell you this," he confessed.

"Well?"

"Not long ago a man from the Earth Kingdom was arrested, soon after that he was charged with bending and now he's being put on trial. A prosecutor was selected to handle this case a few weeks before we were attacked."

He paused and ran a hand through his hair. His brow was wrinkled but his eyes were stony, detached. He looked pensive, concentrated, like he was reliving a specific event in his head.

"I knew whoever the lawyer was, they'd need federal protection from the activist rebel groups within the city but I didn't really care. I just figured whoever it was would have security provided by the government…but she didn't…she came to me."

I sat there staring at him wondering why this story was suddenly getting so emotional. Boss was sitting on the edge of my bed with his hands hanging between his knees. His head was lowered and his breathing was stifling, his voice had become shaky and he was bunching his shoulders up like he was about to start sobbing.

"Zuko," I said and the name was foreign on my lips. I paused for a second to make sure I'd pronounced it correctly.

"What's wrong?"

"I didn't find out who the prosecutor was at first—" he continued, "Frankly, I didn't care. But when I did find out, I just … I had to help."

"Wait?—What?" I snapped. "You just _had_ to help the prosecutor who's trying to put a _bender_ in jail? Boss are you hearing yourself?"

He nodded. "I know, I'm betraying everything I stand for by proving her with security. I had a hell of a time trying to find men here to do the job. No one wanted to help me but they eventually did, out of respect for me."

"Who is it?" I pried. Whoever she was, she'd better be fucking important for Boss to suddenly care about her.

He sighed again.

"I knew her before I left the Fire Nation; she didn't remember me, of course." He rolled his eyes and motioned to his scar. "She thought I was dead. When she called for out help I thought it was a joke but I met her anyway. I just had to see her again, in person."

"Who?" I asked getting agitated. I needed a name…_now_!

"Her name was Mai," Boss said, "Mai Jun-Sin"

The name didn't ring a bell.

"Oh…" I said waiting to be surprised by something.

"I'm so sorry Katara," Boss said.

"You should apologize to your men first," I sneered crossing my arms, "You've betrayed _them_ more than anyone, you've betrayed State Enterprise and you've betrayed those activists."

"I'm not talking about that," he said, "I've already said my apology for providing Mai with a security detail. I'm saying sorry for something else now."

He looked up at me and my breath vanished. It was like I'd been hit by a truck, like some powerful whirlwind had come from nowhere and was trying to drain me of my very last breath. Zuko wasn't speaking anymore, but he didn't need to. His eyes had said it all. They were like pools in his face full of sorrow, remorse, and guilt about to overflow and pour out another flat and meaningless apology.

I'm so stupid.

The only time Boss has ever gone against his better judgment has been for me…a girl that he deeply cared about. And now, he's doing it again for another girl…whom he _deeply_ cares about. One he knew before his accident, one he just _had_ to see…in person.

I'm such a fucking moron.

This Mai bitch is his goddamned girlfriend.

My jaw stiffened as the images of the lady in her bathrobe flashed in my head and I put the pieces together. I remembered the way Boss held her as she cried out on her lawn, I remembered how jealous I felt and how I just knew they'd known each other personally.

All that time Boss was avoiding me he was with his childhood crush—giving her personal security _**24/7**_.He was probably with her while I was out cold in a fucking coma for two weeks! I turned away from him and stared at the wall. He was so upset when he saw me at the crime scene of the bathrobe lady, I wonder if he was upset at me being there and putting my life in danger—_or_ if he was just upset that I'd stumbled upon a love scene between him and his new lover. Suddenly I wished I'd lost my _life_ in that explosion because it felt like my heart was being ripped out from my chest. This pain was far worse than what I'd felt in the accident.

"Katara," Boss said and I knew from the tone of his voice that he'd figured out what I was thinking of.

"Katara, talk to me."

"Just leave," I said sternly. My voice was dead ass serious. I'm not sure how I would've done it, but I _guarantee_ if Boss had said one more fucking word to me about how sorry he was I was going to drop his ass and snap his neck right there in the hospital. _That's_ how pissed I was.

He stood up from my bed and looked down at me for a good long time. I refused to look at him; I couldn't believe what he'd done to me. I've lost my ability to walk because of him and his urge to see his long lost sweetheart. Everything bad that's happened to me is his fault.

"I hate you," I whispered and I could hear him exhale in anger before stalking out of my room.

* * *

**I'm pretty sure being emotional isn't related to blood flow but this **_**is**_** fictional and I had to make a connection to water bending so I just put it in there. Sorry if that (incorrect) statement offended any doctors that may be reading lol. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. I know it was short but I'm working on getting the next chapters longer. I'll try to update soon! Also, I don't normally respond to reviews (out of laziness) but I really do appreciate every last one of them with all of my heart, I'm going to try to send you all some thank you's within the week. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**

**PS. I haven't forgotten about Haru yet, he'll be back soon enough.**


	14. Chapter 13

**Thanks for all of the reviews! I am so happy that you all enjoyed the last chapter, I was nervous about the back story but now I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Phew! **

**You'll notice that time passes more quickly in this chapter; I just can't spend the next five updates crawling through Katara's rehabilitation so I'm trying to speed things up so I can get past it and move the story back on track. It should just be quick for this chapter only. I'll admit it; this chapter is a filler and I'm so sorry! But there was nothing I could do. I was stumped for days lol. I put all of my effort into the back story and now I'm trying to piece everything else together. I know what I want to happen I just can't get it out but I refuse to give up on this story. Anyways, sorry for the rant, please enjoy the update!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own any of the characters or plotline of Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

* * *

Chapter 13

I've come to believe that rehab is actually some ancient, foreign word for hell. Because that's exactly what it'd felt like. Every morning I would wake up at six, eat my somewhat tolerable serving of breakfast, and then I'd spend the next two hours being painfully transferred from my bed to my large black and red, Fire Nation stylized wheelchair. It's made of titanium and steel, to keep it sturdy, and then it's painted over with black and decorated with shining red wheels. My bodyguard; Taver jokes that it's supposed to make me look like I'm wheeling so fast that fire is coming from the chair. I just rolled my eyes whenever he said that—to me, it wasn't funny.

The transfer always hurt the most because I could feel my legs and all the jerking, bumping and twisting it took getting from the bed to the chair, I just couldn't move them properly. It took a group of four nurses and one big male nurse to pick me up carefully and then reposition me, then pick me up again, and swing my legs over the edge of the bed, and then pick me up again and this goes on forever. I hated the repositioning because my legs were exposed in the open, no longer hidden underneath the crisp white sheets, for everyone to see. I hadn't used them properly in nearly a month so they'd lost their beauty and shape. They looked skinny and frail and from the hips down I appeared anorexic. The nurse staff would take turns moving my body and my legs ignoring my grunts and protests as they worked—they've learned by now that I'm a big baby so any little twinge of pain makes me shout out like I've been cracked with a bat.

After I'm put into my chair one of the nurses would wheel me to the bathroom where she, and more nurses, spend an hour transferring me to the bathtub. I'm always unbelievably frustrated by this time so the nurses and I usually ended up bickering during my entire bath. Then I'd spend another hour being dressed in sweatpants and an ugly hospital styled shirt, then I'm transferred back to my chair and finally by eleven o'clock I'm being wheeled to the rehab center.

Taver was always there waiting for me with a big smile on his face. Apparently Zuko assigned him to watch over me while he was out; he thought I would like the company. I didn't, but I found ways to forget that Taver was even in the room. It's better than having Zuko there himself. I'm still not speaking to him so whenever he does visit me, which has become less and less often, my already foul mood turns to flat out pissed off. We spend most of the time in tense silence or making sharp, three-second arguments with each other. He always thought that he should be the one to help me back up whenever I fell, or tell Dr. Kira when I needed a break, or tell me when I was pushing myself too much. I get it; he cares, but sometimes it only made me angrier because he had more confidence in me than I did in myself.

The first exercise I'd have to do is simply stand up. It's something that seemed so simple and easy that I'd actually burst into tears on the first day when I realized that I couldn't do it. I had no clue how many muscles were used just to stand up, I'd lost the ability to manipulate a number of them. Dr. Kira said I needed to build up my strength again, she said my legs were mostly made of metal poles now and steel frames so I'd need to start out crawling before I could walk. Sometimes she'd have me removed from my chair and lie down to do crunches and sit-ups before anything. It was torture but I got through it with the thought of sexy tight abs lingering in my head.

Then I'd be put back into my chair and Dr. Kira would watch as I struggled to stand. I'd wobble to my feet, we'd all rejoice, then I'd move to take a step and the next second I'd be kissing the floor.

"Come on Ms. Rorano, you can do this." she'd always say and I'd always get pissed off.

This was when the arguments would start. Some days it would get so bad that Taver would have to wheel me out of the room, screaming threats and vicious insults along the way. That's how my first two weeks of rehab and physical therapy were spent. Things quickly got better after that, however. I learned how to walk with a cane, it was still frustrating but it was better than being confined to a wheelchair. I'd have to take breaks every thirty minutes to an hour because my legs felt like they weighed twice as much as they used too and it did a number on the rest of my body. But then I found that I could manage a little without the cane so I parked my wheelchair in the corner of my room and decided it was a thing of the past. The only thing I couldn't get over was Boss.

I could still see the image of him and that bathrobe chick wrapped in each other's arms. It was as clear as day and as nightmarish as a horror film. Every time the thought of them crossed my mind I'd suddenly lose my appetite or feel sick to my stomach. Zuko was out spending all day with Mai while I was learning how to manage on a cane. I felt like he only visited me out of pity or guilt, for that matter I'd rather he didn't see me at all. At times it felt like he really did care, like things really were back to normal but in the back of my head I just couldn't forgive him.

This morning I felt different though. I woke up with a bright feeling bubbling inside me. It was like everything felt new again and I had hope because I had a wonderful idea. Just yesterday some of my things had been delivered from the house. I was finally going to be wearing my own clothes again—I was so excited. Even my purse was delivered, the one I'd had the day of the accident. It was definitely tattered but the contents weren't disturbed in the least bit. Inside of it was Haru's phone number. I didn't even think before I acted, I just scrambled to my bedside table and punched in the numbers. He answered on the third ring.

"Hello?" he'd said, his voice was beautiful over the phone.

"Haru?—it's me, Katara."

There was a pause, a long one, and I got nervous. "Hello—?"

"Katara!? I can't believe you finally called me!"

"I know, I'm so sorry. I've been, uh—well, busy."

"Its fine, don't worry about it…."

"Haru," I said sighing and for reasons I can't explain, I started to get choked up. It was like all of my emotions just came spilling out of me the second I began talking to Haru.

"Katara?" he said, confusion lacing his voice.

"Y—yes?" I stammered wiping at my eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Katara," he said, "you don't have to lie to me."

"I want to see you." I blurted. I wasn't even sure if I'd meant it. It sort of just leapt from my mouth but the moment it did, it made sense. Haru's been the only one I could trust these past few weeks. I don't even know him well but the second I met him I knew he was special.

He paused again and I wasn't surprised, a stranger just told him she wanted to see him after going almost a month without communication. I'd be freaked out too.

"Ok," he said calmly, "I want to see you too,"

And from there, our friendship began. I couldn't give him an exact date and time as to when I could meet him. I could barely walk let alone get out of the building, I'd need help. Help from someone I definitely didn't want to ask for.

I let my talk with Haru sink in overnight but it was on my mind in the back of my head until I woke up this morning. I don't know why I was so happy when I finally woke up; I barely got any sleep worrying over when I'd get to see Haru. Still, I found the strength and struggled from my bed to my bathroom limping painfully across the cold metal floor to hurry myself up. After a long shower, I pulled my wavy hair back into a ponytail, applied some light makeup and found my way to the cafeteria. Taver joined me for my meal and complimented my walking as we found a table near the door.

I didn't care for Taver much at all, he was only spending time with me because he had to but I'll be honest; he's an absolute sweetheart. I'd learned that Taver was an earth bender from a small village beyond Ba Sing Se. He'd told me this during our first few days together. I hadn't paid much attention at first but sometimes, when I sat alone at night in my hospital bed staring at the blank walls and wondering when I would get better, I'd remind myself that this hospital is a part of State Enterprise—a bigger organization than anyone knew. It's because of this that I realized Taver was a refugee, not some earth kingdom dude making a quick buck. He'd told me his home had been ravaged by Hunters who'd come looking for him one evening. He was out practicing his bending in the surrounding forest when they came so the Hunters didn't find him. But when he got home everything had been burned to the ground. He lost his parents, his younger sister and the girl he was planning on marrying. He was the only bender in the entire village.

I always found Taver and his slightly offensive jokes tolerable because of this. He laughed about everything because crying was the only alternative.

Taver was also a breath of fresh air compared to the other guys in State Enterprise's sub-division. Nine out of every ten people working within the secret organization were men with big muscles and small brains. The few women I'd seen walking around were small but dangerous looking, compared to them; I felt weak and helpless—especially limping on my cane. Taver was different from most of the other guys; he was built strong and sturdy like an earth bender towering over six feet tall, but he was also elegant in some ways. He didn't have muscles piled upon muscles; he was lean, flexible and quick. His face was soft and gentle only expressing timid smiles and caring glances, he had dark brown hair curling over his light brown skin and bright green eyes that glowed in the sunlight. He was attractive and sometimes I thought of him as the perfect distraction from Zuko but that only made me think of Haru and thinking of Haru only made me think of that lawyer; Mai, and thinking of Mai brought me right back to Zuko.

I frowned as an image of Mai and Zuko hugging flashed into my head again. I pushed my plate away.

"What's wrong?" Taver asked looking concerned.

I shook my head. "Nothing, I want to go back to my room."

Taver nodded and stood to help me to my feet, I almost didn't need his assistance that time and I walked my way to my room on my own.

It was quiet and too warm when I arrived. I didn't want to stay there but I also didn't want to go to rehab and put up with Dr. Kira and her squabbling so I put up with it. I remembered the exercises Dr. Kira told me to do when I was by myself. She said I could rebuild the strength in my legs on my own simply by stretching them out in front of me and resting every now and then. So I started extending my legs out as far as I could and pausing for a few seconds while I sat on my bed; repeat. It was something a child could do but I had to use nearly all of my focus to get it accomplished. It was harder than it looked.

There was a knock on my door. I thought it would be Taver returning to take me back to Dr. Kira so I automatically said; "Come in," without thinking.

Zuko walked inside.

He glanced quickly around the room as he shut the door behind him and blushed a little when our gazes met. His face was modeling an unsure smile as he timidly walked across the room to meet me. I didn't even blink. This was the first time we were actually alone together, mostly Zuko visited me during rehab. He just wasn't around any other time, I was sad for a bit but every time I felt hurt by his absence I just reminded myself that he was a two-timing dirt-bag and then my feelings vanished right away. Like magic.

"How're you doing?" he asked softly, sitting on the edge of my bed. I shifted away from him to stare at the blank wall, I seriously needed a window to look out of—even a picture would suffice.

"Katara," he sighed, "Please, talk to me."

"I should be getting to rehab now." I said over my shoulder, "Will you call for Taver?"

"You're still not speaking to me."

"I don't think I have anything to say to you and you don't have anything to say to me."

"But I do," he insisted looking at me sadly.

"What?"

"I'm sorry Katara."

"You've been _very_ sorry lately, haven't you?" I snapped.

He sighed. "Apologizing isn't going to do anything, will it?"

Now **I** was sighing because I wanted to make him suffer. I wanted him to feel like shit for the next five weeks but I couldn't. I needed his help.

"There is _one_ thing you can do for me." I said looking him in the eye.

His face lit up instantly and for the first time I noticed that he had dimples. Small ones hidden in the corners of his mouth behind the slight rosy blush on his cheeks. They were barely noticeable but once you did see them they made his face that much more attractive. My heart nearly melted as I saw them—_nearly_.

"What is it?" he asked anxiously. "I'll do it, I promise."

"I want to leave this hospital."

He blinked at me. "Why Katara? You're still in rehab, you _need_ to be here."

"No I don't. I need to be outside, in the real world."

His brows furrowed. "Katara, I'm not going to let you leave. You're safer here."

"It's not about my safety!" I snapped and he jumped in surprise. "You just said you'd do it, you _promised_."

The room remained silent for a few edgy moments. Zuko was in a confused stupor and I was reaching my boiling point. This was about so much more than my safety and he, of all people, should know that by now.

"Katara," he said staring at the floor. His voice was calm, relaxed, attempting to understand me. I could hear the curiosity beneath his tongue, the confusion in his tone and the copious concern in his words. He'd only called my name but it was enough for me to tell. We'd only been working together for months but Boss wasn't layered with emotions. He's actually a simple guy once you break him down; it's just mighty difficult to break him the right way. One misplaced crack and you wouldn't be breaking him at all, you'd be setting off alarms and then he'd reinforce that impenetrable wall he's got wrapped around his heart.

I glanced up at him even though I knew I shouldn't. The instant our eyes met I knew no matter what he said or did, or even thought; I knew that he would always care about me from the bottom of his heart. Even if it was frozen over, he'd care and for that reason I softened up. He always managed to get to me somehow.

"What is this about?" he asked.

His words snapped me to my senses and my sympathy vanished. I swallowed. "I met someone."

His face hardened. "Who?—when?"

"That doesn't matter, I met someone and he's in trouble. I want to help him Zuko."

"_**He**_?" he said raising an eyebrow. "No." and he stood to his feet striding heavily towards the door.

"You won't even listen to me!" I shouted trying to stand up. I struggled a bit and ended up falling back onto the bed.

Zuko turned to look at me with no remorse in his eyes.

"I said no Katara. I'm not letting you go on a rescue mission for some boy you met. That's dangerous."

"I don't want to go on a rescue mission," I said, "I just want to help him, Zuko. He needs help; help that only State Enterprise can give him. His father is being persecuted by the Fire Nation, no one can help him but you, _please_."

I looked at him for a good long time while he remained silent. For once I just hoped that my eyes were as emotional as his. I needed him to see everything that I was feeling. Helping Haru was important to me, I'd promised him that I would help if I could and it just so happens that I can! It shouldn't be hard to gather support for benders from a place like this. But then, at the moment I wasn't dealing with someone who cared about benders. I was dealing with someone who cared about _me_ and, after the accident; Zuko put my safety at the top of the list of things he'll pay extra attention to.

He looked away from me tracing his gaze to the floor. "I'm sorry Katara." he mumbled.

"More fucking apologies!" I shouted at him and this time I slapped the glass of water from my bedside table in anger. It crashed to the floor exploding water and glass shards everywhere but I didn't care. I was so angry with Zuko, he was breaking my heart—_again_.

"When will you stand up for the people this company was built to protect? Or do you only care about your new whore now?"

His eyes flickered in anger and he growled; "_Don't_ call her that."

"Don't tell me what to do; it's ok for _you_ to go on rescue missions for _some girl_ but I'm forbidden to help _anyone_?" I pounded my fist in my pillow and pointed at him as I screamed; "You and your whore can go to hell!"

Sometimes anger makes you do unbelievable things. I've never known anyone so fast, not as fast as Zuko. It seemed like as soon as the words had left my mouth he was back across the room and snatching me up by the arm.

I yelped in pain and shock as he gripped my wrist and twisted it painfully to the side.

His eyes met mine and they were filled with fire, a burning flame of anger and I knew he was serious. I actually felt afraid as I stared wide-eyed at him. My heart was thundering in my chest and my breathing was falling faint. I thought, for a second, that I was going to faint.

"Do not _ever_ call her a whore again. Do you hear me?"

I nodded my head and he let go of me. He stared down at my face for an extra second as the anger melted from his eyes allowing his sanity to return. I met his eyes watching him with cautious shock but a sudden hot pain filled my arm and I glanced down tearing my eyes away. There was a bruise forming on my wrist already, except it wasn't a normal bruise—it was a burn.

A reddened burn was beginning to show up on my forearm, in the shape of Zuko's large hand. He looked down at it too and his face instantly shifted from rage to remorse. He quickly turned around, unable to face me. Neither of us could believe that he'd burned me. I knew he was a bender but I didn't expect the first time I witnessed his bending to be on me. He'd burned me and hadn't even noticed. He was turning into a monster, an uncontrollable, volatile monster and all of his anger was aimed at me.

"Don't criticize me for the missions I do Katara." His voice surprised me, bringing my attention to his retreating back. "Sometimes I have to do things that don't seem to make sense, but I always do them for a reason. Whether you believe me or not."

He rushed out of the room in silence, not that it mattered. I wasn't looking at him anymore; my eyes were clouded with tears. Hot, heavy tears that raced down my cheeks and fell into my shaking hands as I wondered what the hell was happening to me. Everything was suddenly so messed up; _nothing_ was going the right way. The accident, my physical capabilities and now my relationship with Zuko. Getting involved with him was quickly turning out to be a nightmare of a mistake.

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**I know that was short and I'm sorry but the good news is; we're past the filler and now we can get back to longer chapters! Yay! Lol, thanks for reading, don't forget to review and God bless!**


	15. Chapter 14

**Wow I can't believe how many of you reviewed! Thanks so much! I really tried to make this chapter longer, sorry for those irritating dividers—I hate using them but I promised a longer chapter and now I must deliver. Please forgive me for updating so late, school got in the way but I'm organizing a good schedule to allow me more free time for writing so hopefully you guys won't have to ever wait that long for an update again. Enjoy and God bless!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own any of the characters or plotline of Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

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Chapter Fourteen

"Something's off about you." said Taver as he watched me greedily gulp back my water.

He was right. Something _was_ off but I wasn't about to tell him about it. How could I? How could I explain the searing pain I felt from what'd happened between Boss and I without going into detail? I hadn't thought about it before but now that my heart was broken and I needed someone to vent to I realized just how crazy my love life was getting. It was so complicated I couldn't even console in someone I considered to be my friend. What would Taver think of me when he found out that I had a thing for Zuko?

I didn't want to find out.

Instead of trying to talk my broken heart away I decided to beat the pain out with extensive training. Dr. Kira gave me the OK two days after my argument with Boss and said that it was fine for me to begin my self-defense classes. Taver trains me, at like a twelve year old level, but he trains me nonetheless. My body gets so sore really easily but I don't mind. The pain is a sign that I'm still alive and now that Zuko and I are pretty much done and over with I've decided that as long as my heart beats I'm going to make every pump count. Benders are dying out there, since Zuko refuses to help them I guess I need to step up to the plate. My first client; Haru.

We've been talking everyday now, I'm getting better at making up excuses for why I can't come see him in person but I don't think he's buying them anymore. I can't exactly tell him my psychopathic boss has me locked up in a hospital room because I was almost assassinated.

The fact that I was nearly killed by Activists makes me shudder. What if Haru was amongst the crowd? Would it be alright for me to refuse to help him anymore? Aren't his accused actions justified because of what Boss is doing with that prosecutor? He's providing our enemy with security detail 24/7. He should have been first in line with those Activists, then I wouldn't be in a hospital.

"Katara," Taver said staring hard at me.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand jolting from my complicated thoughts and, gasping, I replied; "Sorry, let's take it again." Taver had been teaching me this awesome maneuver where I could get myself out of a chokehold and then counter with a jaw-cracking punch. It sounded easy when he'd explained it but it's not exactly simple to get out of a chokehold when the person attacking you is six feet of pure muscle and you're five feet of flaccid healing wounds.

Taver crossed his arms. "No, we're not taking it again."

I furrowed my brow. "Why not? I can handle it."

"It's not a matter of your physical strength," he said striding across the gym floor. He stood directly in front of me and poked me in the forehead. "Something's not right up here."

I glanced away. Leave it to Taver to read me like a book. It seems like we've made some sort of refugee connection in the days since Boss lost his mind and tried to fry me up. At first I thought I was going to go crazy; the man I was falling in love with had nearly assaulted me—over another woman. At the very least, I needed counseling but I couldn't bring myself to speak to anyone about it. Admitting I was hurt would be admitting defeat to Zuko, but not just to him—to that bitch as well and I did _not_ want to lose to her.

Luckily I found reconciliation in my training. Maybe I was falling into the rebound game but it seemed like Taver was there right when I needed him. And then there's Haru too. I can only speak to him over the phone but just the sound of his voice was enough to shatter my scorned attitude and melt away my anger and frustration. I looked forward to our conversations.

"What's going on?" Taver asked drawing my attention back up to his eyes. His gazing green pearly eyes, they dazzled with sincere concern as he stared down at me.

As tempted as I was to break down and weep into his hard, toned chest I just couldn't. Instead I looked away again, marshalling my emotions and mumbled something in response trying to side-step around him. Unfortunately he grabbed me by the arm and twirled me back to face him with a stern expression conquering his gentle features.

"Katara." he said except his voice was low and rumbling, it sounded more like a suppressed shout.

I sighed. "I don't want to talk about it."

To my surprise, he smiled. "Ok then, now we can take it again."

"What?—why now?" I asked, shocked.

"Because you admitted that something _was_ off. Accepting your anger is the first step to diminishing it."

"I'm not angry," I mumbled, "I'm outraged." And it showed through my training. We reworked the drill five more times, four of which ended with me tapping out and giving up and the last time I was actually choked out and woke up in my bedroom an hour later.

The room was spacious and wide with pictures on the walls and potted plants in the corners. I had a television that could only go to the news, but that was fine with me, and I even had a radio. Still, no windows though. Boss had arranged for me to get a new room right after our argument, he'd even had all of my things from the old house brought over. I was no longer living in the rehab section of the hospital; I was in the sub-division core of State Enterprise. This was where all the other refugees, rescued benders and deathly loyal Activists lived and worked. It was full of lively benders and non-benders tapping away at their computers, training endlessly in the gym and organizing battle tactics in the meeting rooms. Of course I was only allowed to go to the gym, cafeteria and my room but I didn't mind. The short walk through the main hall was interesting enough for me.

I suppose Boss had me transferred as a way of saying sorry. I'd been complaining endlessly about it to Taver, who said there was nothing he could do. But then one day Zuko walked into the gym just as I was going into another tangent on how much I hated living in a hospital and then bam! The next day my things were being moved two floors down and eight rooms over. I should be beyond thankful to Zuko for his kind gesture but I refused to acknowledge it. If he was truly concerned about my forgiveness then he would come see me face to face. Most of the time our schedules ran opposite one another, especially since I was shipped out of rehab. I'd be in training while he was on a job, I'd have lunch while he was transferring to Mai's house and then it was training again when he came back to check in and lastly; I'd be going to asleep while he was going back out to visit his new lover.

I know I was pissed at him but he could have at least _appeared_ guilty. Whenever I did see him he'd have that same stony expression on his face like nothing ever bothered him at all. Sometimes I wondered if monster-mode Zuko was better than the one I was facing. But then I'd remember that this would all pass soon. Mai's case would be over and she'd be out of my hair and Zuko would be back to normal. At least that's what I hoped because I was mad as hell but deep down I was simply hurt.

I climbed out of bed and immediately went for my phone. Boss had had a new one installed in my room so I didn't have the hospital showing up in the caller ID during calls. Haru had asked me about it once but I played it down saying that I was visiting a friend. Thank God he didn't question why I only called from the hospital where my friend was staying—I have no idea what kind of lie I would have told to cover that up.

The phone rang its usual three times and Haru answered on point. I could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke. "Hey lovely, you're late."

"I know, I'm sorry." I said trying hard not to blush.

He sighed into the phone. "I was getting worried; I thought you'd forgotten about me."

"No, I would never."

"I want to see you Katara," he said getting right to the point.

I frowned already missing his flirty side. Our serious conversations bored me. "I told you, I can't."

"Why?" he snapped.

Now I was sighing. "I have to work; I barely have time to even speak to you because I'm always running around"

"That boss of yours is a real jackass."

"I know." I replied rolling my eyes.

"You shouldn't have to work this much, not at a time like this. Especially if you don't have a body guard with you."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Haven't you seen the news? There's been murders left and right, people are afraid to even leave their houses." he paused for a second, "I can't get a decent call because of this, but I guess I'm not surprised. People don't really want a male prostitute in their house when Activists and Equalists are getting mowed down in the masses."

I put the phone down for a second trying to comprehend what Haru was telling me. People were getting murdered? Activists _and_ Equalists? For what?

"Haru," I said cutting him off. He was still complaining about not being able to find a well paying customer.

"Yeah?"

"Who was murdered?—I mean, _why_?"

"First there was an attack on a security guard but no one knows the details on that. The news doesn't even have any footage of the attack, just some pictures of a car on fire. It was supposedly launched by a group of Activists. Apparently the security guard was providing protection for that Fire Nation prosecutor. She's some kind of prodigy."

I gasped. He was talking about Mai, but even crazier, he was talking about me when Boss's car was blown up by those Activists, I had no idea it'd made it to the news. Of course there wasn't much coverage though. State Enterprise owns half of the television stations; Zuko wouldn't want his face all over the news. He probably had almost all footage of the attack destroyed just to protect his identity.

Haru's voice cut me off mid-thought. "It wasn't long after that when that prosecutor was attacked." he said earning my deepest interest.

"The Fire Nation prosecutor was attacked after that?" I asked breathily. I don't know why I was so worried, I hated Mai but I guess that didn't really mean she deserved to be attacked, did it?

"Yeah," Haru explained, "She's apparently some hotshot legal phenomenon. I heard she was the daughter of some Fire Nation dignitary, Mai something." he mumbled.

"Mai Sin-Jun." I corrected.

"Yeah, that's it. How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess," I mumbled and then I changed the subject. "Are you sure she was attacked?"

"Yep, but it wasn't anything serious. My attorney punched her in the face at a court hearing."

"Oh," I exhaled. _Good for him_….

"After that my father's attorney was on the front page of every newspaper, he became a wanted man for punching that damned prosecutor. Now it's been an all out war between Equalists and Activists. You can guess whose winning."

"Equalists." I hissed. It figures their crimes would be covered up, anything harmful done to a bender is probably rewarded by them.

"Yeah," Haru said, and suddenly his voice began to shake. "People just started dropping dead after that. From prominent Activists down to innocent bystanders, the Equalists are sparing no one."

"Why?"

"They want revenge on my father's attorney. As if my dad hasn't been through enough!" Now he was yelling and I was burning with anger. So this was what had been happening out in the real world while I was holed up in a hospital trying to learn how to walk again. It made me sick to my stomach because all of this was Zuko's fault. If he hadn't provided security for Mai then we never would have been attacked by those Activists and this war wouldn't have started. Innocent blood is on his hands, but not just his hands anymore—mine too.

I could be out there helping people, possibly saving lives! But I'm not; instead I'm making excuses and minding my business. Haru's life is in danger just for being his father's son. He could be killed next!

"What happened to your father's attorney?" I asked in a serious voice.

There was a long pause on the other end. "I don't know, he's been missing for four days now. It was definitely Equalists but no one's doing a thing, police haven't even begun an investigation."

"I'm so sorry," I said holding back angry tears.

"Don't be," Haru insisted. "Because the crazy part is; I'm not sure I even care. That's what happens when you face death and violence so much, you're almost immune to it. Besides that, the man was charging us through the roof and we weren't getting anywhere with my father's case. Except now my dad doesn't have an attorney at all. It doesn't matter though; he's being prosecuted by that Fire Nation bitch, we were never going to win this case in the first place."

"Don't say that," I insisted sighing into the phone.

Haru didn't respond.

"Listen, I have to go, ok? But I'll call you later." I said rolling over in bed, "—actually, I'll _see_ you later."

He brightened instantly. "Really? When?"

"I'll let you know soon." I answered and then I hung up letting go of gasps of held breath. I had no idea when I'd get to see Haru but I was determined to meet him in person. I'd help him out, even if it killed me but first I needed a plan.

He had no lawyer, no protection, and no money.

I had State Enterprise—that was a start but I needed people too, people that I trusted. I hadn't seen Jet since the day of the accident, he was off limits, Dr. Kira had a stick up her ass 24/7 so she was off limits. The only other person I knew who'd be somewhat willing to help me, or at least would be easily manipulated into helping me, was Taver. Luckily, I knew just where to find him.

It was past lunchtime when I entered the cafeteria. I wasn't surprised that it was nearly empty. Taver was having a late sandwich with Dr. Kira when I approached them. He gave a cheery wave; she barely glanced up at me.

"We need to talk." I said sitting down across from them. Taver stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth in one big bite and moved to grab his water. Dr. Kira set down her fork and adjusted her glaring glasses.

"Yes, we do." she said with a curt nod. "I heard your training didn't go too well, Katara. You can't overexert yourself, that's dangerous."

"I didn't come to talk about that." I said ignoring her statement. I'd been told that a hundred times already, hearing it again wouldn't change anything—especially now.

Dr. Kira looked confused for a moment but Taver only grinned in response like he'd been expecting this from me all along.

"I need your help Taver."

"With what?" he asked ignoring the prying glare from Dr. Kira.

I glanced at Dr. Kira for a quick second and cleared my throat. "Can we speak in private please?"

She didn't budge.

I rolled my eyes. "Seriously, it's personal."

She flicked her eyes in anger and stood abruptly to her feet giving me a glaring once over before tromping out of the eatery taking her trash with her.

I sighed and grabbed Taver's bottle of water not caring that I was drinking right after him. I swear he blushed in return.

"So," Taver said watching me drink. "What can I help you with?"

I swallowed hard finishing the last of his water and sighed at him. "I want to get out of here."

"That's forbidden." he said and his face was so plain and cold I thought he hadn't spoken for a second.

"Taver, I'm serious. I really need your help; I _have_ to get out of here."

"Why?" he asked. "Aren't you fine here?"

"It's not about leaving here, it's about _going_ somewhere."

He leaned forward putting both his elbows on the table and resting his chin on clenched fists. "Going _where_, exactly?"

I grinned. "Going to meet Mai Sin-Jun's client."

"Mai Sin-Jun—!" he paused cutting himself off by slapping a hand over his own mouth.

After a few tense moments of glaring angrily at me, Taver let his hand slip away from his mouth and he spoke in a fierce whisper glancing around first to make sure no one was watching us. "You're going to meet Mai Sin-Jun's client? Do you know who that is?"

"Yes," I said crossing my arms haughtily. "His name is Haru, Haru Kintoah. And I'm going to help him."

"Not the boy!" Taver spat spewing venom as he spoke. "I mean _Mai_; do you have any clue as to whom exactly that is?"

Now my grin widened. "Of course I do. I know exactly who that is Taver."

He raised his eyebrows and I beckoned for him to follow me as I stood to leave the cafeteria. Not a word was passed between the two of us during our long stroll back to my room. I could tell Taver was itching to know what I was doing but I couldn't afford to have any extra suspicion brought onto us. I had to play it cool so I ignored the prying glare he wore searing through the back of my head. I pretended not to see his motions over my shoulder as he tried to get my attention and I most definitely tuned out the many sighs he heaved behind me once he finally realized that I wasn't going to spill until I reached my room.

"Alright." Taver said closing my room door behind him. He leaned against it arms crossed and face hard as he waited for me to speak. His gentle expression had been traded in for something a bit sterner, nearly opposite his usual appearance. His strong arms were very visible beneath his tight black shirt, he always wore long sleeves, I don't know why—I didn't ask. And his pants were wrinkled, from our training I presume. Though I hardly landed a punch on him—let alone a kick.

"What's this about?" Taver asked in a growling voice.

I sighed taking a seat on my bed. It suddenly seemed like all the air had been sucked from the room. I'd never felt such a tense mood around Taver before, he was always so jolly and cheery this was throwing me off.

"I met Haru Kintoah before I knew that his father was Mai Sin-Jun's client. I met him on a job one day, Boss doesn't know—no one knows. But I promised him that I would try to help him through State Enterprise. He doesn't know about the secret sub-division. Just that we're a multi-billion dollar company. He figures with our connections and money, any sort of help we give out would suffice."

I looked up at Taver expecting to find that sincere, glowing face of his but I didn't. Instead I was faced with cold, empty, green eyes staring back at me from a blank, emotionless face.

"Um…?" I said trying to come up with more words. "Haru's father was accused of being a bender. Then his attorney punched Mai in the face, since then people have been getting killed over it. It's an all out war between Activists and Equalists Taver. Neither side will stop until we've done something about it. We _have_ to help."

He shifted from one foot to the other but his face didn't change.

"Say something." I said looking hard at him.

He sighed finally breaking that stony expression. "What do you want to do Katara? More than that—what do you _think_ you can do? This is serious business; you can't just go marching in and think that things will change overnight. It's like you said; _an all out war_."

"So you know about what's been happening?" I questioned.

"Everyone here does, that's why you weren't allowed to leave. Boss thought you might be targeted if anyone saw you, especially after the accident."

I bristled in shock and anger. All this time Zuko had been keeping this a secret from me. He knew people were dying and he didn't tell me. He acted like everything was normal—what's wrong with him?

I was livid as I sat on my bed darting through my jumbled thoughts. I didn't know what to think. On one hand, Boss was protecting me. But on the other, he was keeping things from me. Lying to me. I was an employee at State Enterprise too; I deserved to know just as much as anyone else here. _Especially_ things like that.

"Katara," Taver said catching my attention.

I glanced up at him, anger written clear on my face. "Don't be upset, he meant to do you well. Boss was protecting you."

"He was lying to me." I spat fisting my covers.

"And what are you doing?" Taver asked looking smug. "You're about to lie to him, you're trying to betray him."

"He betrayed us first Taver. He's helping Mai Sin-Jun!" Why couldn't he understand!?

Taver sighed tiredly and uncrossed his arms turning toward the door. "Boss is a secretive man, sometimes he does stuff without explanation but he _always_ has good intentions. Trust me."

"So does that mean you'll help me or not?" I asked stopping him as he reached for the doorknob. He paused again not moving a muscle holding tightly onto the knob. I bit my lip hoping for the best, Taver was my one and only. I needed him desperately and he probably knew that.

His shoulders shook as he sighed again and I heard him curse under his breath before turning to face me. "Yeah Katara, for some crazy reason I'm going to help you."

I wanted to run over and give him a big hug but I didn't have the time to spare on celebrating. We needed to work, and fast. I wanted to see Haru in person within the next three days.

"We'll need as many other people in this as possible," I said speaking quickly. "I wish that Jet was here, maybe Dr. Kira on a good day, but other than that I have no clue as to who could help us." Taver raised a hand cutting me off.

"No," he said shaking his head. "We don't need a lot of people; we need as few as possible. The more people who know about this, the higher our chances are of getting caught. We keep this between you, me and another friend of mine."

I raised my eyebrows. Taver had another friend? I suppose he _did_ have a life outside of guarding me, training me, and spending friendly time with me. It just never crossed my mind. With as much time we'd spent together being around him became sort of the norm. I almost couldn't remember life without Taver. The thought of it sent chills up my spine for numerous reasons. I was close to Taver, suddenly, but deep down I felt like I was only close to him because I was moving further away from Zuko. I was replacing my feelings for Boss with something for Taver. I won't say love, because I don't think I loved Zuko but I'm not going to lie—there was _something_ there. And part of me liked it, but part of me hated it vehemently.

"You have a friend?" I asked trying to sort out my emotions. I was just all over the place lately.

Taver smiled at me but it was the kind of smile that said he was reading me like a book once again. I blushed knowing that he knew what I was thinking. I'm rather averse to being so easily interpreted, I don't want to come off as wildly mysterious but I'd like to believe that I could keep _some_ things to myself.

He crossed his arms again and leaned back against the door for support still smirking at me. "Yeah, I've got a friend. Why?"

"You're so busy all the time; I just wondered how you managed to keep up with it all." I said playing it cool.

"I'm great at multi-tasking." he scoffed.

I squinted at him.

"Look, I'll contact him later. He'll definitely help us as long as we stick to whatever plan we come up with. Got it?"

I nodded at him.

* * *

It turns out, getting out of State Enterprise is easier than I thought it'd be. Our plan wasn't elaborate in the least bit, it wasn't complicated or systematic. We simply requested that I be given one hour of outside training over the weekend and the next day it was approved. Taver told me that was where his friend had come in. Apparently Jet was reassigned to a new unit after the accident; he was the one usually in charge of approvals when Zuko was out. But since Jet wasn't in town, the job was left to another guy who went by the name; Duke.

He was a young boy, a teenager actually and the day Taver introduced us I recognized him right away. His hair was dark brown, close to black and he had the same gentle features as Taver; calm eyes, a small nose and shapely lips. He had that same genuine look to him only his face was painted a light olive tone instead of the caramel brown that Taver was. He was adorable from head to toe and I couldn't believe that someone his age was skilled enough to be third in command behind Jet and Zuko. That's either really sad or really amazing.

I was sitting in the gym waiting for our meeting to commence when Duke walked inside. He was decorated with dark green Earth Kingdom clothing from head to toe with leaf colored combat boots on his feet, a navy green vest covering his broad chest and dark gloves over his hands. There was a short maroon colored cape draped over his shoulders stopping just above his rear matched with a dingy maroon bandana tied over his head. On his waist was a utility belt stuffed full and a long, thin blade rested menacingly on his hip. He caught me staring at it and smirked boyishly—showoff.

"You must be Katara," he said and his voice was young but confident, his face was kind but serious—a spitting image of Jet's cognoscente expression.

"You're Duke?" I asked eyes wide.

His smirk melted into a scowl. "It's _The_ Duke,"—well ok then…..

"Um,"

"Sorry," said a voice behind us. It was Taver entering the gym with a bundle of papers loaded in his hands. I stood and trotted over to help, The Duke just stayed there and watched.

"I guess you two already got acquainted." he said scanning the two of us over. "The Duke, this is Katara, Katara this is The Duke."

"Yeah," I said waving a dismissive hand. "We met."

"Awhile ago." The Duke said.

I glanced over at him gawking in surprise. "_That's_ where I know you from?" His face had seemed familiar the second he'd walked through the door, I knew I'd recognized him but I couldn't pinpoint from where. Now the images of our first meeting came rushing into my head at lightning speed I almost had to sit back down for a second. The Duke was the younger boy from the weaponry when I'd first discovered the sub-division of State Enterprise. He was the only one who was nice to me when I was strapped down to that chair, he'd even (somewhat) saved me from that Viking-man.

I squinted at him. "You look different."

He laughed and reached up to remove his bandana revealing a head full of heavy brown hair. "I got a haircut."

"I'm sure that's it." I joked.

"I didn't mean to be late," Taver interrupted, "but Boss caught me heading out, he wanted to know about our schedule for today, imagine explaining why I had all these papers. I hate lying to him."

"He doesn't hate betraying us." I mumbled helping set down the papers.

Taver moved to unroll his scrolls laying them out on the floor for The Duke and I to see as he dully ignored my bitter comment. There were maps and blueprints, buildings and streets and diagrams I couldn't name on the papers. It looked like some sort of intricate puzzle and my mind immediately went blank.

"Uh, what's all this?" I asked scratching my head.

"It's the layout of the Falls of the Fire Nation."

The Falls of the Fire Nation. They were gigantic magma falls overflowing the land on the rim of the Fire Nation. Their existence was symbolic to the country, serving as something of an eighth wonder. Their white hot might attracted thousands of tourists from around the world every single day. I personally had never seen them before but then, I didn't have the money to go before State Enterprise came along. You needed to have big bucks to view the Falls; they're a safety hazard after all. About a thousand people fall to a fiery death at the Falls every year, you need great insurance just to get the OK. Then comes the ticket prices.

"This isn't the Falls," I said squinting at the blueprints. Last time I checked the Falls were just that; Falls. Not buildings and neighborhoods.

Taver grinned and The Duke sighed rolling his eyes.

"I know, this is the neighborhood _around_ the Falls. We'll need to know the entire layout before we move on."

"We're just meeting Haru somewhere to talk, why does it have to get so complicated?" I asked.

The Duke spoke up. "We don't want to go somewhere where people will get suspicious of us, but we also don't want to be completely alone—we could get attacked by Equalists on our own."

"So we're going to the Falls. It's like an amusement park, filled with people minding their own business." said Taver finishing The Duke's statement. "This is the best form of protection that we can give you since it'll just be The Duke and I."

I nodded coming to an understanding. "How are we going to get there?"

"On foot." The Duke answered.

"That's on the opposite side of the Fire Nation! No way can we walk!" I shrieked. "Did you forget that Zuko is expecting us back before nightfall?"

Taver sighed. "We'll just have to blow our cover then."

"That means I'll only get one meeting." I said.

"Then make it count."

Taver went over the blueprints and maps with The Duke nearly leaving me completely out of it all. I tried to pose good questions and sound at least remotely on topic but I could tell that this was their game and I wasn't welcome. They were using words I'd never heard before and discussing tactics that sounded impossible to me. When it came time to actually leave Taver simply told me he'd get me an earpiece to wear and I could just follow orders from there. I felt like a child being guided through my own mission but I agreed nonetheless, we didn't have time for me to get an attitude.

I had to dress in regular clothes for the mission; we were supposed to only be doing regular training it would've looked suspicious if I were dressed like a ninja. Taver wore his usual gym attire, like me, however, The Duke came in his full on armor from our initial meeting. He'd added an extra item or so to his utility belt but he looked roughly the same. I wondered why he was so prepared just to have a simple meeting but I squashed the question as Taver told me it was time to head out.

When I'd spoken to Haru on the phone I made sure to give him as many details as possible. He assured me he could produce the money for the Falls and even said he'd bring a camera to take pictures. I was ecstatic about finally seeing him in person again. It seemed like it'd been months since we'd last spoken face to face yet I felt this incredibly strong connection to him. I just wished that my suppressed feelings for Zuko didn't exist, then I'd be able to crush on Haru without feeling guilty—and Taver too.

"Are you ready?" Taver asked feeding me my wire. He taped it to mychest just below the collarbone then strung it up to my ear tucking it in the folds of my shirt to hide it from onlookers. I nodded my head and smiled up at him meeting his forest green eyes in a swirl of emotions. My life could change 100% after this meeting.

"Do you realize how important this is?" I whispered feeling the intensity in the air.

Taver grinned down at me as he pulled his hands away finished with my earpiece. "Yeah, this is big stuff isn't it?"

"We could start a revolution with Haru's case."

His grin widened. "I love starting revolutions."

I laughed. Because so did I.

"Let's go kids." announced The Duke briskly walking past us.

Taver and I wiped the grins from our faces and turned to follow closely behind The Duke. He walked fast taking sharp turns around corners through the building confusing me with each move. We had to leave out of the back to keep suspicion down but we had to leave twice as fast because The Duke wasn't supposed to be with us. He gave curt nods to inquisitive watchers and threw in a wave to the especially nosy folk who watched us closely weaving in between desks and tables. I was breaking into a nervous sweat by the time we'd made it outside the door but all of my anxiety vanished at the site of the bright burning sun.

My eyes felt like they were on fire as I stood there squinting hard and blinking rapidly. This was the first time I'd seen the sun since my accident, I'd forgotten how hot it was. My skin prickled at the feel of the fresh air dancing up my arms in a tickling breeze and my cheeks flushed red in the comforting warmth of the wind. The air smelled wild and exciting, I wanted to start running and never stop, to begin a new journey—a new life, but Taver's voice quickly brought me back to reality.

"Katara, we gotta get going." he said looking at me through nervous eyes.

I glanced over at The Duke and he was wearing an equally concerned expression. "What's wrong with her?" he asked Taver.

"She hasn't been outside in awhile; I don't think she's used to it all at once." Taver answered.

I crossed my arms. "We can go," I grumbled, "since we're in such a rush."

"Well we kind of are." The Duke said turning to lead the way.

We stalked up the street in casual silence trying to look as normal as possible but how could a rehab patient, an Earth Kingdom refugee and a teenage killing machine look normal altogether? We worked with it.

The streets weren't the usual red and black glory that the Fire Nation was known for. There weren't any nobles pacing the sidewalks or any children dancing up the street. The neighborhood was completely empty, cold and dark. It was void of all signs of life mimicking a creepy horror film rather than a bustling city. The million dollar mansions that once lined the streets were tattered now and nearly destroyed. Cardboard and wooden planks now covered what used to be crystal clear glass windows. Doors were hanging from their hinges and one house's roof had been caved in.

There was a woman stumbling down the street coming toward us as we walked up the road. She looked absolutely horrible, like the ladies that you see on the homeless shelter donation brochures. Her hair was scraggly and standing on end, the coat she was wearing used to be worth a couple thousand dollars but it'd been reduced to a holey and tattered mess barely clinging to her body as she staggered along. I flinched for a second and gripped Taver's arm as I watched her approach us. She was weeping, I noticed as we grew closer, and once we were within a few feet of us she began begging us for money or protection, anything to help her.

"Please," she cried and my grip on Taver's arm tightened.

"Just keep walking." he said calmly and I did but at the same time I felt something tearing at my heart.

That woman genuinely needed help, but not just her, everyone did. The great Fire Nation had been reduced to a country of warring ashes in just the short time I'd been away. All of this was over one case between an Activist and an Equalist. Innocent people were dying for the sake of one man and I was about to join in on the fight. I thought for a moment about what I was about to do as I walked alongside Taver and The Duke. I was about to get involved in something that was so much bigger than Activists, Equalists or even the Fire Nation. The outcome of Haru's case could determine the course of this war and change things for benders forever. In either a good or a bad way. It all depended on what happened at that meeting.

"Alright," The Duke said once he'd rounded a corner. We'd stopped in a small alley on a side-street. I knelt trying to rest my anxious legs, Taver stood arms crossed and feet shoulder width apart.

"What's up?" he asked looking aggravated. I was annoyed that we'd stopped too; I needed to see Haru and fast.

"We'll separate from here," The Duke said looking around. "I'll travel from the rooftops. You take Katara and keep her safe."

"Will do," Taver said looking over at me.

"Why are we separating?" I asked, "That wasn't a part of the plan."

"We have to; I want to keep watch from afar to see any danger before it reaches you."

I nodded and stood to my feet. "Fine then, let's keep going. We still have a lot of ground to make up."

Taver followed me out of the alley but The Duke turned and scaled up the tall building beside us. He moved swiftly from rooftop to rooftop jumping from building to building so effortlessly I felt like he wasn't even human anymore.

Taver looked over at me smiling as I watched our ally run in amazement.

"He's really great, isn't he?" Taver asked looking up over our heads.

I smiled. "Yeah, especially for his age."

"The Duke is the youngest member of our unit. He was basically raised by Jet and the rest of the Freedom Fighters, this kind of stuff is all he knows."

I pressed my lips together. "In a way, that's kind of sad."

"How?" Taver asked scrunching up his eyebrows.

"He never got a real childhood because of the Fire Nation. The Duke has grown up taking lives for sport. He's probably seen so much unnecessary death it makes me sick to my stomach."

"He's never killed for sport, Katara." Taver protested. "Everything State Enterprise has done is justified; we're helping people not hurting them."

I rolled my eyes and picked up the pace. "Boss is hurting people."

"Not intentionally."

"Why do you always put up for him?" I snapped stopping in my tracks. I turned around to look at him except my attention was instead drawn to the ground where a small object was resting at my feet. I instantly knew what it was the second my eyes rested on it; a smoke bomb.

It'd fallen right out of the sky and plopped down at my feet. I had about three seconds to react before it went off and my mind was moving at a thousand miles an hour—though that didn't help much at all. All of my training had been defensive, I knew tons of new maneuvers but none of them taught me how to avoid poisonous gas.

"Get down!" Taver shouted and I instantly ducked but it was too late. The heavy smog had already exploded into the air bursting through the semi-fresh breeze and contaminating everything. It forced me to stumble back a few steps coughing and rubbing at my burning eyes. I was blinded momentarily but I could still hear Taver's voice.

He was just screaming over and over again for me to stay down huddled against the building that was next to us but I couldn't find a thing. The gas was quickly getting to me. My mind was growing fuzzy, my knees were beginning to wobble and my limbs felt weak.

There were gunshots going off beyond the smoke, I could hear Taver still shouting at me but my head was swirling like mad. I briefly made out The Duke's voice in the chaos as well but before I knew it I was meeting the ground face to face and everything went black.

* * *

**Sorry! Cliffhanger—sort of—I'll try to update quicker this time. It should be easy since I don't have heaps of exams lined up this week. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, don't forget to review! God bless! **


	16. Chapter 15

**I owe you all a bundle of apologies for how late this update is. I hope you can forgive me for that. Please enjoy the chapter despite my negligence lately. I'm deeply sorry for how late this is.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own any of the characters or plotline of Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

When I woke up I hated myself. I was not tied down, I was not restrained. I was in my bed, back in State Enterprise.

I failed.

My feet felt cold as I padded barefoot across the cool metal floor. It was like a chilling wakening to my awkward stupor. My body felt like it'd been hit a hundred times with an iron mallet, my head wasn't pounding and the room seemed to be spinning. After taking only five or six steps I stumbled to the bathroom and slid across the floor to the toilet.

It came out in a thundering, painful vomit. When I was done I felt like I'd puked up my intestines. Then came the dry-heaving. My throat burned like hell and my eyes watered—I needed to lie down. I inched back up to my feet and crossed the bathroom desperately trying to make it back to my bed but by then the room was turning in circles. I couldn't tell up from down, left from right, everything was jumping out at me and I could barely walk.

I tripped over my own feet sure that I was going to come crashing to the floor again but I was surprisingly met with a broad chest instead. It was firm and warm and enveloped me whole as I stumbled around. Strong arms came quickly, closing around my body and lifting me from the floor. My head lolled around uncontrollably as I tried to see who my hero was but it was no use. Not that it mattered I wouldn't have been able to tell who it was with my blurry vision anyway.

"I've got you," said a husky voice and a wave of emotion washed over me.

"Where were you?" I tried to ask but he didn't answer. He carried me from the bathroom entrance over to my bed and tucked me in telling me that I shouldn't try to speak. I exhaled heavily blinking up at him through a blurred stare and nodded quickly falling into another deep sleep.

_That asshole_, I thought actually happy to know it was him.

The second time I woke up things were different. The room wasn't spinning, my body wasn't aching. I felt good. My covers slid off of me with ease and I nearly ran over to my door. My head was bursting with questions; had we been compromised by Equalists? How did I get back here? What about Taver and The Duke?—are they ok?

As soon as I swung open the door part of my question was answered. Taver was standing there with his arms crossed and his head lowered. He looked somewhat angry but controlled at the same time. Standing across from him was The Duke wearing an equally dour expression. They were engaged in a tense conversation with one another but if I wanted to know anything my hopes were dashed away because as soon as they saw me they stopped speaking and stepped apart from each other in surprise.

"Katara!" Taver said reaching to hug me.

"You're awake." The Duke gasped.

"How long have I been out?" I asked pulling from Taver's embrace. "What the hell happened to us?"

Taver pulled away and frowned down at me. "We need to talk." he said in a serious tone.

I frowned too. "What about?"

"Just come with us," The Duke said stuffing his hands into his pockets. He lowered his head at me and offered a weak smile trying to ease the tension in the air. Had I not been hungrily curious about everything I would have demanded to know what was going on right then and there but I was feeling faint suddenly so I agreed to follow them—I needed to sit down. I did, however, make Taver buy me lunch though.

After a visit to the cafeteria the two guided me down the hall to the gym and let me sit at a small table devouring the stew Taver had bought for me. I was halfway through my bowl when I looked up to see the two of them staring at me with rapt attention.

"What?" I asked, "Is there something wrong?"

The Duke chuckled as he leaned his long body across the small table narrowing his eyes as his face inched closer to mine. He raised a hand and, keeping eye contact, wiped a bit of stew from my chin.

I swallowed. The kid was young but damn, at the moment he seemed dangerously flirtatious.

"Hungry?" he joked and I rolled my eyes at him pushing my bowl away suddenly in a sour mood.

"Alright," I said wiping my hands on a wet-cloth. "Let's talk. I thought we were attacked; I was knocked out cold for I don't know how long, yet you guys are alright. What the hell is going on?"

Taver sighed obviously frustrated but The Duke, as nonchalant as ever, reached across the table and grabbed my unfinished stew ignoring all comments.

"We weren't attacked," said Taver keeping his eyes on the table.

"What?" I snapped. "Yes we were, what are you talking about?"

He didn't look up at me, or even mumble a word in reply. Just kept staring at the table fiddling with his fingers. I looked at The Duke for an explanation but he was busy finishing my meal.

"Hello?" I said angrily, "What do you mean _we weren't attacked?_"

"I mean everything that happened out there was planned. We were ambushed by troops from State Enterprise; they knew our coordinates and the route we'd be taking. They were watching us all along."

I blinked for a few extra seconds replaying Taver's statement over again in my head. I wasn't for sure if I'd heard that correctly, that ambush was _planned_. We were attacked by State Enterprise troops…..what the hell?

Taver must have noticed the confusion on my face because he didn't even wait for me to ask before he started answering my questions.

"They knew because I told them Katara, The Duke was working with us for the sole purpose of kidnapping our target."

"Target?" I whispered, and then it all clicked. "Haru! What happened to him? We were supposed to be meeting him at the Falls."

The Duke finally separated himself from my leftover stew and cleared his throat. His eyes were cold and steely as he met my gaze, not an ounce of emotion was in them at all. His face was blank as if the words he was about to say didn't mean a thing and for the first time, as I stared up at him, I thought he looked like a killer. Just like the skilled assassin he was known as around State Enterprise, not the teenage smartass I'd come to like.

A chilling fear rained over my body and I sucked in air in an uncontrolled response.

"I have a friend," The Duke began, "he goes by the name; Rider. He's an Activist, like me, like Boss, like Taver and like everyone else in this building. I used to roll with him a few years back; he's a loner kind of guy. Never really wanted to stick with the Freedom Fighters so I only saw him every now and again." He stopped to scoot his chair closer and scratch at the dingy bandana over his matted hair.

"Rider was working an underground subdivision for State Enterprise a little while ago; he did a lot of travelling and recruiting for us. But then," he paused and glanced away showing his humanity for a split second. His eyes lowered and his jaw tightened for just a bit matching his furrowed brows in an emotionally stirred expression.

"One of Rider's missions went south; he got captured by the Fire Nation. He sacrificed himself so his teammates could escape. But we know he's still alive, the Fire Nation would never kill someone who held so much vital information about other well-known Activists."

He stopped and sat back in his chair staring blankly ahead like he'd finished his story. I glanced around the room for an awkward moment. That was an interesting tale but what the hell did it have to do with our fake ambush and Haru's location?

"Umm," I said looking over at Taver. He was still in love with the table so, rolling my eyes, I returned my attention to The Duke.

"What does all this have to do with what happened to us?" I asked trying to sound sympathetic; The Duke looked like he was on the verge of tears now.

He cleared his throat. "Rider is being held in a high security prison, we're going to break him out."

"What?" I snapped cutting him off. Ok, that was way off topic as far as I was concerned. A fake ambush was one thing; even another Freedom Fighter that I didn't know of was fine, but breaking into a high security Fire Nation prison? What…the fuck?

The Duke just smirked a little returning to that smartass persona as he continued his story.

"Boss and the Freedom Fighters had been planning it for some time now but then this Haru shit popped up."

"You say that like it interrupted something." I interjected.

"It did," The Duke said, "Everything was fine, the Haru case was bringing up so much attention the break in would be a back story in comparison. But then Mai came back, and you got involved and everything's changed."

"What do you mean changed?" I asked leaning across the table.

Taver spoke up surprising both me and The Duke. "Rider is Mai's little brother."

"What?" I whispered. My eyes grew large as I tried to piece things together, if Rider was Mai's little brother and Boss was planning on breaking him out of prison then…what did that mean exactly?

"Mai Sin-Jun is a prosecutor for the Fire Nation, she actually came to us to offer help with her brother. The security detail was just something we fed to the media, although she does actually need it."

"But once word got out that she was seeking security from State Enterprise the media started putting us on the news whenever they could." said The Duke. "It's brought unwanted attention to the company. And you're accident didn't help. It ignited a heavily anticipated war between Activists and Equalists and State Enterprise is the center of it all."

"We're being watched like hawks now," Taver said interrupting. "All the attention has us at a standstill now. It'll look suspicious if anyone from State Enterprise was caught up in a jailbreak attempting to rescue Rider, Mai Sin-Jun's little brother. But not just for us, for Mai too. She came to town for some bender case and suddenly her little brother was broken out of prison….the media would be all over us."

"So what does that have to do with anything?" I asked thoroughly confused now.

The Duke sighed. "We thought we could use Haru as bait, get him to throw the case so his father would go to prison. Chances are, his dad will end up in the same prison as Rider. That way, if anyone from State Enterprise is apprehended during the stunt we could say they were attempting to rescue Haru's father, not Rider. That would at least protect Mai's reputation."

_Everyone's in this for precious little Mai_, I thought suppressing the urge to roll my eyes.

"The only problem was," continued The Duke, "we couldn't find Haru anywhere. He's damn good at hiding."

I looked up at The Duke meeting his casual stare with a burning glare. "So that's how I came in then? You all used me to lure out Haru, you knew he'd meet me anywhere—anytime, didn't you?"

No one said anything.

"You never cared at all about the fact that innocent people are dying, did you? You're only in this for Rider? He's one person and he's safe in prison, _hundreds_ are dying all around us!" I snapped looking back and forth between Taver and The Duke. Neither of them spoke, they couldn't even meet my gaze. Funny how quickly it'd gotten so quiet.

"You're both going to hell." I spat standing to my feet.

"Katara, wait," Taver said grabbing my wrist. "We're still helping Haru, his father's going to go to prison but we're gonna break him back out along with Rider. It's not as bad as it seems."

"Yes it is!" I snapped, "You used me, helping Haru is just a convenient coincidence. If you could do this without him you would, and you wouldn't even think about Haru or his father or anyone else who's died trying to fight for the freedom that you claim to defend!"

I snatched my arm away and stormed off toward the door huffing profanities in anger. "You're all a bunch of hypocrites, no wonder you're so loyal to Zuko. You're just like him!"

With that I turned on my heel and rushed out of the gym and back to my bedroom. I was feeling sick all of a sudden; maybe I'd overexerted myself emotionally. Whatever it was, I knew I needed to lie down quick so I stumbled over to my bed in a hurried rush the second my door was closed behind me. I made sure it was locked tight because I just knew Taver and The Duke would come running with an apology soon. I wasn't in the mood for them.

Unfortunately a loud set of knocks came racking across my door almost as soon as my head hit the pillow. I rolled onto my side groaning loudly as I threw a pillow at the door.

"Go away!" I shouted, muffled with my face in my covers.

The knocks came again and I threw another pillow shouting the same phrase as I clenched my fists. Couldn't they take a hint?

The room fell silent and I sighed, peace at last.

Then the door clicked and in walked the intruder.

I sat up instantly wondering when Taver or The Duke had gotten a hold of a key to my bedroom. Either I was going to beat them to death with my lamp or strangle them with the cord. Either way, I wanted blood—this was _not_ a good time to bother me.

Unfortunately there'd be no shedding of blood that day, I figured that out as soon as I looked at the figure standing in my doorway.

Zuko.

Couldn't kill him and get away with it—not easily.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I came to check on you."

"It's been how long since we've spoken?" I spat settling on the edge of my bed. I crossed my arms and legs and glared at him waiting for an answer. I couldn't even remember our last non-hostile conversation. Everything between us was so wrong all of a sudden. Except for this morning. I knew it was him who'd come to my rescue when I was stumbling around like a drunken fool. Not only was it the most perfect timing, but it seemed as if that was the perfect occasion as well. Maybe because I was too ill to fight him, no matter, it felt good to finally be around him without feeling angry or hurt or outraged. I just wanted things to go back to normal between us, and as I looked over at him standing there in the doorway with his head lowered and his eyes crying dry tears—I knew he wanted the same thing too.

"I wanted to give you your space," he confessed shifting his weight from one foot to another. "I couldn't face you after what I did." His eyes lowered from mine to my arm. The scar had faded into the background of my natural skin shade; you couldn't even tell anything had happened to me from the naked eye. Still, I found myself covering my arm with my hand as if trying to hide burns the size of the ones that ate up Zuko's face.

"Did you really regret it all?" I asked and now I was looking to the floor too.

"Every second of it Katara. I've been hell these past few weeks."

"So have I." I confessed. Enough with the bullshit, I needed Zuko, I needed our old relationship, I needed closure, I needed for all of this to end right here and right now.

"What about Mai?" I asked earnestly, after everything Taver and The Duke had told me I needed to hear what Zuko had to say.

He cleared his throat and stuffed a hand into the pocket of his crisp slacks. "We need to talk Katara," he said and he turned to leave only stopping to glance back at me and jerk his head toward the hall.

I didn't even hesitate; I bounced off my bed, found some decent shoes and trotted down the hall behind him anxiously wondering where we were going and what was going to happen next.

We weaved through the employees and other people tending their duties in the hall making our way to God knows where. Once we'd turned a corner Zuko slowed his pace and I sped up a few strides to walk next to him.

He glanced down at me and I raised my eyebrows silently asking him to explain himself.

"What did Taver and The Duke tell you?" he asked walking slowly. "I bumped into them in the hall and they said I should see you, I figured whatever they'd said to you was important if they wanted _me_ to go sort things out."

I swung my arms at my side and allowed myself to relax. I've been through worse; I could handle a little chat with Zuko.

"They told me that Mai's little brother is an Activist and you're helping break him out of prison."

He nodded his head silently and his eyes seemed to fade away as he escaped to the back of his mind obviously zoning out in thought for a moment. This was going to be a long talk.

"Is that true?" I asked blinking up at him.

He sighed and nodded again. "We've been planning it out for ages now. Rider's one of us, we can't just leave him there. I just had no idea that Mai—his sister—would actually come to me though, I wanted to help out Rider because he's my companion. It had nothing to do with Mai. But then she did come and she wanted to help, the case involving Haru was just a coincidental and convenient cover up for us to work together without causing too much suspicion."

"So," I said thinking out loud, "you didn't know Mai wanted to help?"

He shook his head and we rounded a corner. "Not at all, she'd been working for the Fire Nation for so long; I just assumed she was one of them."

"How do you know she isn't?" I asked and I sounded bitterer than I actually felt. But it was a legitimate concern. Mai could be double-crossing State Enterprise and using her little brother's imprisonment as a convenient excuse to pose as an undercover Activist and get close to Zuko. Maybe that's a bit extreme though. I mean no one even knows he's alive right?

Zuko glanced down at me for a second as if that thought had just crossed his mind for the very first time ever.

"Zuko?" I said coming to a halt, "How do you know she isn't double crossing you?"

He stopped walking too and looked at the floor biting his lip as he let an unsettling silence fall over us. "You just have to trust me." he finally said and I burst into instant anger.

"Trust you?" I spat venomously. "Why? Because you're trusting _Mai_?" That time I didn't care if I sounded bitter or jealous—hell, I _was_ bitter and jealous, but I was done trying to hide it. Especially since my life was being put on the line all for the sake of Mai and her lovers bond with Zuko. I wasn't having it, not today.

Zuko ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Katara, I needed to keep all of this from you so that you wouldn't get so involved."

"How'd that go for you?" I asked still angry. "Here I am, still getting involved _despite_ your lies and secrets."

He sighed and leaned against the wall across from me looking me right in the eye. "I'm not sleeping with Mai Katara." he said and his eyes didn't move at all. His face seemed etched in stone buried deep within a dead serious expression not wavering in the least bit.

I stared at him in disbelief. He'd burned me over that girl; _something_ had to be going on for him to consider her to be that important.

"B—but," I said stammering for words but Zuko cut me off.

"I tried to seduce her," he admitted, "to get more information out of her, but she's here strictly for business." Now he looked away and a light blush crawled across his cheeks.

"On top of that, she's not really interested in me. I mean, she said she loved me—but only as a friend."

"I don't get it." I said interrupting. I was just as confused as Zuko looked. How could any girl not be seduced by him?

Zuko reddened even more. "Mai's a lesbian, Katara."

"A lesbian?" I gawked. "Are you sure?"

He laughed. "She wouldn't sleep with me even after I practically begged her too, she actually seemed disgusted by the offer."

My jaw tightened. "You offered yourself up so easily."

His face morphed into a cocky half smile and suddenly the air was lighter. "I know, I felt really cheap afterwards. Like some sort of prostitute."

_Speaking of which_, I thought and Zuko caught on right away.

"Haru is safe Katara," he said getting back on track. "We picked him up before you guys even left the base. He's actually safer here than he was on his own."

I bit my lip and took a deep breath. "Where is he? Why couldn't you just tell him about all this? Kidnapping him was a bit extreme don't you think?"

Zuko turned away from me without answering and started down the hall again. I followed without instruction. "I don't think he would have cooperated Katara, we're talking about purposely sending his father to prison. That's a tough deal to agree with. On top of that, we were afraid that he'd possibly be picked up by Equalists, they'd torture him for whatever information he had. It was better for him not to know anything."

I nodded swinging my arms at my side. I hated to admit it but he was right, and he'd probably applied that same concept to me as well. Sometimes secrets are better, I guess.

"Do you understand Katara?" Zuko asked looking at me with deeply concerned eyes.

I nodded. "I do, but where is he? I need to see Haru."

We turned another corner and came to a dead-end. There was just a single black door at the end of the short hall we faced; it gave me an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach. I guess Haru was behind that door.

I looked up at Zuko but he kept his eyes forward. "He's back there Katara."

"Well let's go then," I said trudging forward but I was jerked back when Zuko grabbed my arm all of a sudden.

"What are you doing?" I snapped but I cut myself off when I got a good look at his face. His eyes weren't on mine, they were lowered to my arm and as he continued staring his grip began to loosen but he didn't let go. He held my arm in his hand and looked at it gently running his thumb over the area where the scar he gave me used to be.

"Katara," he said and it was barely a whisper leaving his lips.

I didn't speak.

"I'm so sorry, for what I did. I didn't mean to, I'd never hurt you. Not intentionally."

"I know." I said almost too fast. I surprised the both of us with that reply. But it was true. I knew deep down, Zuko wouldn't hurt me. Not on purpose, even when he'd burned me he hadn't intended to. Does that make it ok? No, not at all, but it doesn't make his apology useless either. It was time the both of us threw in the towel.

I looked up at him and didn't say a word but I didn't need to. Everything that needed to be said came out in the expression he had on his face. I'm sure I looked just as emotional as Zuko did but somehow I knew he was feeling everything I felt times ten. His lids grew heavy as he gazed down at me and I offered a weak smile trying to lighten the air but he didn't smile back. His face changed from hurt to serious as the grip he had on my arm began to tighten again. He tugged me closer to him lowering his eyes from mine to my lips and I knew what was coming next.

My body pressed against his and I closed my eyes to receive him but something inside of me pulled myself to a stop. There we stood entangled within one another, my hand had already found its way to his hair, a most comfortable position I'd missed for so long. He'd let go of my arm to wrap his own around my waist and rested the other on the small of my back. It was the perfect setup for a wonderful kiss but, for whatever reason, I was ruining it.

"Wha—what's wrong?" Zuko whispered against my mouth. We were so close our lips met briefly when we spoke, like a series of gentle tickling kisses.

"I'm sorry," I answered, "I can't." and I pulled away from him keeping my eyes to the floor.

Alright, I'll admit it—I really wanted to kiss him. Honestly, I did, but I couldn't. We'd somewhat called a truce but that didn't mean I was ready to pick up where we left off.

"I'm sorry—" I said again but Zuko interrupted.

"It's ok," he said quickly keeping his eyes to the floor as well. "I shouldn't have done that." His voice was cold, full of disappointment and I knew I'd probably screwed things up but I didn't feel bad. We'd make up sooner or later, it seemed we always did.

"Well," I said looking at the black door.

Zuko raised his eyebrows at me and I dared to crack a smile at him. Thankfully he returned it making me feel instantly at ease. "You ready?" he asked.

I nodded. "I have to see him."

* * *

**Filler, I know, I hate fillers too but this one really brought the story to where I needed it to be. I feel like I'm finally on the right track now. Sorry if the Rider bits confused you but they'll be explained soon. Also, I'm not sure if Mai's little brother was given a name in the series, that's why I said he goes by the name Rider, if anyone knows his actual name drop it in a review and I'll work it into the story later one.**

**Sorry if this is taking a journey different from what you all expected, we still have a long ways to go so don't give up on me now please!**

**Thank you all so much for waiting so patiently for this update. Again, I'm so sorry for the delay and I'm working on the next chapter right away! Thanks for reading, Happy Easter, and God bless!**


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